Deck Of Cards ((aka The Red Deck Of Cards (Red River Dave McEnery) - 1954
A Hillbilly's Deck Of Cards (Ferlin Husky) - 1966; Cards Spiritualised; The Soldier's Almanac Bible And Prayer Book))
((Dutch Version: Het Spel Kaarten (Cowboy Gerard & De Rodeo Riders - 1965))
Composer(s): T. Texas Tyler
Performer(s): Phil Harris - 1948
and multiple other artists



During the North African Campaign, a bunch of soldier boys had been on a long hike
They arrived in a little town called Casino
The next morning being Sunday, several of the boys went to church
A sergeant commanded the boys in church
After the Chaplain read the prayer, the text was taken up next
Those of the boys that had a prayer book took them out
One boy had only a deck of cards, and he spread them out
The sergeant saw the cards and said, "Soldier, put away those cards"
After the service was 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," was the response
The Marshall asked the soldier, "And what have you to say for yourself, son?"
"Much, Sir," replied the soldier
The Marshall stated
"I hope so, for if not I will punish you more than any man was ever punished"
The soldier said, "Sir, I have been on the march for about six months
I have neither bible nor a prayer book, but I hope to satisfy you, sir with the purity of my intentions"
And with that, the boy started his story...
"You see, sir, when I look at the Ace, it reminds 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 see the trey, I think of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
And when I see the four, I think of the four evangelists who preached the Gospel
There was Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
And 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 shut out
When I see the six, it reminds me that in six days God made this heaven and earth
And when I see the seven, it reminds me that on the seventh day God rested from his great work
And when I see the eight, I think of the eight righteous persons that God saved when he destroyed the earth
There was Noah, his wife, their sons and their wives
And when I see the nine, I think of the lepers our saviour cleansed and that nine of the ten didn't even thank him
When I see the ten, I think of the ten commandments that God handed down to Moses on a tablet 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 the Queen of Heaven
And the Jack or Knave 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
There are four suits, the number of weeks in a month
There are twelve picture cards, the number of months in a year
There are 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 prayer book"
"And friends, this is a true story
I know, I was that soldier"