Lily, Rosemary And The Jack Of Hearts-Joan Baez

[00:17.40]The festival was over and the boys were all planning for a fall, [00:24.22]The cabaret was quiet except for the drilling in the wall. [00:30.96]The curfew had been lifted and the gambling wheel shut down, [00:35.56]Anyone with any sense had already left town. [00:40.00]He was standing in the doorway lookin' like the Jack of Hearts. [00:49.15]He moved across the mirrored room, “Set 'em up for everyone,” he said, [00:55.61]Then everyone commenced to do what they been doin' before he moved their heads. [01:02.40]He walked up to a stranger and he asked him with a grin, [01:06.97]Could you kindly tell me, Mister, what time the show begins? [01:11.75]He moved into the corner, face down like the Jack of Hearts. [01:20.44]Backstage the girls were playin' five-card stud by the stairs, [01:27.21]Lily had two queens, she was hopin' for a third to match her pair. [01:33.82]Outside the streets were fillin' up and the window was open wide, [01:38.32]A gentle breeze was blowing, you could feel it from inside. [01:42.74]Lily called another bet and drew up the Jack of Hearts. [01:51.75]Big Jim was no one's fool, he owned the town's only diamond mine, [01:58.32]He made his usual entrance lookin' oh so dandy and so fine. [02:04.65]With his bodyguards and silver cane and every hair in place, [02:09.67]He took whatever he wanted to and he laid it all to waste. [02:14.12]But his bodyguards and his silver cane they were no match for the Jack of Hearts. [02:23.14]Rosemary combed her hair and took a carriage into town, [02:29.66]She slipped in through the side door lookin' like a queen without a crown. [02:36.42]She fluttered her false eyelashes and whispered in his ear, [02:40.97]I'm sorry, darlin', that I'm late, but he didn't seem to hear. [02:45.49]He was staring into space over at the Jack of Hearts. [02:54.30]Bur I know I've seen that face somewhere, Big Jim was thinkin' to himself, [03:00.93]Maybe down in Mexico or a picture up on somebody's shelf. [03:07.61]But then the crowd began to stamp their feet and the house lights did dim [03:12.24]And in the darkness of the room there was only Jim and him, [03:16.28]Staring at the butterfly who just drew up the Jack of Hearts. [03:25.61]Lily was a princess, she was fair-skinned and precious as a child, [03:32.10]She had that certain somethin' , it was a kind of a flash every time she smiled. [03:38.91]She'd come away from a broken home, had lots of strange affairs [03:43.46]With men in every walk of life who took her everywhere. [03:47.49]But she'd never met anyone quite like the Jack of Hearts. [03:56.62]The hangin' judge came in unnoticed and was being wined and dined, [04:03.29]The drilling in the wall kept up but no one seemed to pay it any mind. [04:09.78]It was known all around that Lily had Jim's ring [04:14.55]And nothin' would ever come between Lily and the king. [04:18.81]No, nothing ever could except maybe the Jack of Hearts. [04:27.94]Rosemary started drinkin' hard and seein' her reflection in the knife, [04:34.43]She was tired of the attention, tired of playin' the role of Big Jim's wife. [04:41.11]She had done a lot of bad things, even once tried suicide, [04:45.77]Was lookin' to do just one good deed before she died. [04:50.10]She was gazin' to the future, riding on the Jack of Hearts. [04:58.98]Lily took her dress off and buried it away. [05:05.62]Has your luck run out? she laughed at him, I guess you must [05:09.15]have known it would someday. [05:12.32]Be careful not to touch the wall, there's a brand-new coat of paint, [05:16.71]I'm glad to see you're still alive, you're lookin' like a saint. [05:20.87]Down the hallway footsteps were comin' for the Jack of Hearts. [05:29.96]The backstage manager was pacing all around by his chair. [05:36.67]There's something funny going on, I know, I can just feel it in the air. [05:43.26]He went to get the hangin' judge, but the hangin' judge was drunk, [05:47.92]And the leading actor hurried by in the costume of a monk. [05:52.15]But there was no actor anywhere better than the Jack of Hearts. [06:01.28]Lily's had her arms around the man she dearly loved to touch, [06:07.87]She forgot all about the man she hated, who hounded her so much. [06:14.46]I've missed you so, she said to him, and he thought she was sincere, [06:19.05]But in the hallway he felt jealousy and fear. [06:23.38]Just another night in the life of the Jack of Hearts. [06:32.22]Well no one knew the circumstance but they say it happened pretty quick, [06:38.98]The door to the dressing room burst open and a cold revolver clicked. [06:45.50]And Big Jim was standin' there, you couldn't say surprised, [06:50.01]Rosemary right beside him, steady in her eyes. [06:54.15]She was with Big Jim but she was leanin' to the Jack of Hearts. [07:03.15]Two doors down and the boys finally made it through the wall [07:09.93]Cleaned out the bank safe, it's said they got off with quite a haul. [07:16.58]And in the darkness of the riverbed they waited on the ground [07:21.02]For one more member who had business back in town. [07:25.45]But they couldn't go no further without the Jack of Hearts. [07:34.38]Well the next day was hangin' day, and the sky was overcast and black, [07:41.14]Big Jim lay covered up, killed by a penknife in the back. [07:47.42]And Rosemary on the gallows, Lord, she didn't even blink, [07:52.19]And the hangin' judge was sober, Lord, he hadn't had a drink. [07:56.48]And the only person on the scene missing was the Jack of Hearts. [08:05.42]Well the cabaret was quiet now, and the sign said, Closed for repair, [08:12.34]Lily had already taken all of the dye out of her hair. [08:18.76]She was thinkin' about her father, who she very rarely saw, [08:23.61]Thinkin' about Rosemary and thinkin' about the law. [08:27.84]But, most of all she was thinkin' about the Jack of Hearts.