Tex Ritter – Deck Of Cards lyrics

During the North African Campagne,
a group of soldier boys had been on a long hike.
They came to a little town callled Casino.

The next morning, being Sunday, several of the boys went to church.
A Sargent commanded the boys in church,
and after the chaplain had read the prayer,
the text was taken up next.

Those of the boys who had a prayer books took them out.
But this one boy had only a deck of cards,
and so he spread them out.

The Sargent saw the cards and said, "Soldier, put away those cards".
After the services were over, the soldier was taken prisoner,
and brought before the Provost Marshall.
The marshall said " Sergeant, why have you brought this man here?"
"For playing cards in church, Sir."
"And what have you to say for yourself Son?"
"Much, Sir," replied the soldier.
The marshall said, " I hope so, for if not,
I shall punish you more than any man was ever punished."

The soldier said, "Sir, I have been on a long hike for six days,
I have neither Bible nor prayerbook, but I hope to satisfy you, Sir,
with the purity of my intentions."
And with that, the boy began his story.

"You see sir, when I look at the Ace,
it reminds me that there is but one God.
The deuce, reminds me that the Bible is divided
into two parts, the old and the new testament.
When I see the trey, I think of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.
And when I see the four, I think of the four Evangelists who preached
the Gospel They were Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

When I see the five, it reminds me of the five wise virgins
who trimmed their lamps. There were ten of them,
five were wise and were saved, five were foolish
and were even shut out.
When I see the six, it reminds me that in six days,
God made this great Heaven and Earth.
When I see the seven, it reminds me that on the seventh day,
He rested from His great work and called it Holy.
When I see the eight, I think of the eight rightous persons
God saved when he destroyed this Earth.
There was Noah, his wife, their three sons, and their wives.
When I see the nine, I think of the lepers our Saviour cleansed,
and nine out of the ten, didn't even thank Him.
When I see the ten, I think of the Ten Commandments. The Ten
Commandments God handed down to Moses on a table of stone.

When I see the king, it reminds me that there is but one King of Heaven,
God Almighty.
And when I see the Queen, I think of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
who is Queen of Heaven, and the Jack of Knaves is the Devil.

When I count the number of spots in a deck of cards,
I find 365, the number of days in a year.
There are 52 cards, the number of weeks in a year;
four suits, the number of weeks in a month;
twelve picture cards, the number of months in a year;
and, thirteen tricks, the number of weeks in a quarter.
So, you see Sir, my deck of cards serves me as a Bible,
an Almanac, and a prayerbook.
And Friends, the story is true, I know,
I was that soldier.