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The Deck of Cards is a recitative that was popularized in both the country and popular music fields, first during the late 1940s.

Though legendary country musician T. Texas Tyler was credited with writing this story, The Deck Of Cards is actually based in part on an excerpt from a piece of 19th Century British Literature called "The Soldier's Almanack, Bible And Prayer Book" ^[1]

This religious, touching tale of a young soldier arrested and charged with playing cards during a church service first became a hit in the U.S. in 1948.

Through the years, other artists recored cover versions, including:

• Tex Ritter (1948)
• Phil Harris (1948)
• Max Bygraves (1973)
• Bill Anderson did a version in the early 90s. It became popular during the Persian Gulf War

By far the most popular version of the song was recorded in 1959 by future game show host Wink Martindale, and was performed on The Ed Sullivan Show. Martindale's rendition made the Top 10 in the Fall of 1959.

"The Deck of Cards" is set during World War II, where a group of Army soldiers, on a long hike during a campaign in southern Italy, had arrived and camped near a town named Cassino. While Scripture is being read, one boy who has only a deck of playing cards, pulls them out and spreads them in front of him. He is immediately spotted by a sergeant, arrested and taken before the Provost Marshal to be punished.

The Provost Marshal demands an explanation, to which the soldier explains the significance of each card:

Ace: The one true God
Deuce: The Old Testament and New Testament in the Bible
Trey: The Holy Trinity; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit/Ghost
Four: St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke, and St. John, authors of the four Gospels
Five: The two groups of five virgins who trimmed their lamps for a wedding. Five were wise (by saving enough oil) and were admitted, while the other five were foolish (did not have enough oil) and were shut out.
Six: God creates the Earth in six days.
Seven: God rests on the seventh day, now known as the Sabbath.
Eight: The eight righteous people who God saved during the Great Flood: Noah, his wife, their three sons, and their wives.
Nine: The ten lephers who Jesus cleansed; nine of whom didn't even thank him.
Ten: The Ten Commandments God handed down to Moses.
King: Jesus Christ, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Queen: Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of Jesus and Queen of Heaven.
Jack or Knaves: Satan or the Devil
365 Spots: Days in a year
52 Cards: Approximate number of weeks in a year
Four Suits: Approximate number of weeks in a month (can also mean the four seasons but this is not included in the song)
Twelve Face Cards: Months in a year
Thirteen Tricks: Approximate number of weeks in a quarter

He then ends his story by saying that "my deck of cards serves me as a Bible, an almanac and a prayer book." The narrator then closes the story by stating that "this story is true," either by claiming either he is the soldier in question or that he knows him.

The fate of the soldier — whether he is jailed or if the Provost Marshal accepts the explanation and lets the soldier go — is not revealed in this version, though the storyteller says at the end "..This story is true-- I know, because I was (or knew) that soldier". The versions by Tyler, Martindale and Anderson ended just this way.

The story, as told, contains flaws, including:

• There are not 365 spots on a deck of cards. No construction of a card deck with four identical suits could contain an odd number of spots. On a standard deck there are 364.
• Only in February are there exactly four weeks in a month (and then not in leap years), so the deck would provide a rather unreliable almanac.
• Similarly there are not exactly 52 weeks in a year, or exactly 13 weeks in a quarter.

The Welsh Comedian and singer Max Boyce recorded a Rugby union themed version. In a Spitting image sketch, Leon Brittain performs a saterical version when Margret Thatcher catches him and the rest of the cabinet playing poker in a cabinet meeting.

• Copy of Lyrics
• Urban Legends

1. ^ "The Soldier's Almanack, Bible And Prayer Book", From "The History Of Playing Cards With Anecdotes Of Their Use In Conjuring, Fortune-Telling And Card-Sharping", Edited by Rev. Ed. S. Taylor, B.A., Published in London, 1865

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