Bill Anderson - Deck of Cards Lyrics

When I first heard this song, I was a little boy growing up
Down in the state of South Carolina
The song had been written and recorded by a man named
T. Texas Tyler

The song in it's original form related to something that
Happened during the second World War
Last year, early in 1991, when things were going kinda crazy
Over on the other side of the world, I remembered this old song

And I rewrote the first part of it to fit the situation
The second part of it I left like it's been all of these years
Because you can't improve upon perfection
I'd like to dedicate this tonight to all the Veterans

To their families, their loved ones
And everybody that loves this country

It was a sweltering hot Sunday morning in the Saudi Arabian desert
And a young soldier sat alone in his tent, deep in thought
A picture of his wife and children back home in the United States
Rested on a table nearby

His mind began to wander across the miles
Back to other Sunday mornings that seemed so long ago
Now and so far away, he thought of home
And he knew that when this day dawned in America

His family would go to church to pray for his well-being
And his safe return
The young soldier reached into his bag and he took out
A deck of playing cards

He began to spread them out across his bunk
About that time, one of his buddies came by and said
"You gonna get up a game?", "No," the soldier replied
"I'm gonna spend a little quiet time with the Lord"

"Looks like to me you're playing cards," his friend said
"No, you see, I don't have my Bible and since we can't
Display our religion in public, here, I brought along this deck
Of cards" and with that, the young boy started his story

You see when I look at the Ace, It reminded me
That there is but one God and the Deuce reminds me that
The Bible is divided into two parts
The Old and the New Testaments

When I look at the Trey, I think of the Father, the Son
And the Holy Ghost
When I see the Four, I'm reminded of the four Evangelists
Who preached the Gospel

There was Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
And when I see the Five, I think 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 shut out

And when I look at the Six, I'm reminded that in six days
God made this great heaven and earth
The Seven reminds me that on the seventh day
God rested from His great work

When I see the Eight, I think of the eight righteous persons
God saved when He destroyed this old world
There was Noah, his wife, their three sons and their wives
And when I look at the Nine, I think of the lepers
Our Saviour cleansed

And nine out of the ten, didn't even thank Him
And when I see the Ten, I think of the Ten Commandments
God handed down to Moses on the table of stone
When I look at the King

It reminds me that there is but one King of Heaven
God Almighty
The Queen reminds me of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Queen of Heaven and the Jack or Knave is the Devil

When I count the number of spots on a deck of cards

I find 365, the number of days in a year
There's 52 cards, the number of weeks in a year
There's 4 suits, the number of weeks in a month
There's 12 picture cards, the number of months in a year
There's 13 tricks, the number of weeks in a quarter

So you see, my friend
This deck of cards serves me as a Bible
As an Almanac and as a Prayer Book

And friends, this story is true
I know because I know that soldier