Jack of Hearts and Captain Morgan

[asakiyume]

I was taking a shortcut from one strip of depressing stores to another, and it had me scrabbling down a slope, covered in these landscaping rocks, when I spotted this playing card and nips bottle:



Like out of a story.

The Jack of Hearts strikes me as a trickster character. Is that an established thing, or just something I'm imagining? I mean, the jack isn't as powerful as the king, he's the interloping male who can enchant the women, steal them away from the king. And hearts! Hearts is hearts.

(Side Quest: You are in charge of creating four new suits of cards. What are they?)

And then the nips bottle. Cards and drink are stereotypical downfalls, but there's something extra mean and tragic about a nips bottle, fortunes fallen so low that that's all you can afford. Maybe the Jack of Hearts was your lucky card... now it's lying in a wasteland between strips of stores, beside a state highway, next to the nips bottle.

(Side Note: Actually now it is lying in the pocket of my coat. I am not sure what quest I've accepted by picking it up.)

The real-life Captain Morgan raided Spanish galleons hither and yon, plundered cities, engaged in torture now and then, and owned several slave-run plantations. He also drank a lot. I wonder what he'd think about his image decorating nips bottles?

(ETA Side Note 2: Wow, "Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts" is a great story-song! Thanks sartorias and pameladean for recommending it!)

Comments

[sovay]

(Side Quest: You are in charge of creating four new suits of cards. What are they?)

Tides, Storms, Immolations, Stones.

I don't think you are imagining the Jack of Hearts. I look forward to the fruits of your side quest.

[asakiyume]

I like your suits!

The four of tides. The nine of Immolations. The seven of storms. The ace of stones.

ETA: don't ask why I only capitalized "Immolations".... I am not sure, myself.

[sartorias]

My mind goes immediately to the ballad "Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts" on what I think of as Bob Dylan's greatest album, "Blood on the Tracks."

[pameladean]

That was my immediate association too. And that is absolutely Dylan's best album.

P.

[asakiyume]

Strengthening my resolve to go listen!

[pameladean]

If you don't care for Dylan's voice, Jian Baez dies a good version. As do the Rumpke Mountain Boys. P.

[asakiyume]

I don't mind Dylan's voice! (This song is 8 minutes, so I'm still listening/enjoying.) But I do like covers as well ;-)

[pameladean]

I imprinted on Dylan's voice as a duckling, but I love covers of his work a lot. I'm glad you liked the song!

P.

[osprey_archer]

Thank you for mentioning there's a Joan Baez cover! I don't mind Dylan but I LOVE Baez.

[sovay]

That was my immediate association too. And that is absolutely Dylan's best album.

+3.

[asakiyume]

Listening now, and YES, this definitely contributes to the mystique I feel around the idea of "Jack of Hearts"

[asakiyume]

I feel certain this was on *frequently* when I was a kid, and it probably soaked into me. Because yeah, just looking at the title! (But now I need to go listen to it and see if I remember it.)

[asakiyume]

Listening now, and YES, this definitely contributes to the mystique I feel around the idea of "Jack of Hearts"

[osprey_archer]

What a song! Thank you for mentioning it. I'd never heard it before and it was a wonderful listen.

[sartorias]

You can see why it still runs through my mind fifty years later!

[sabotabby]

There's gotta be a good story there.

[asakiyume]

I'm thinking of something like the story told in Leonard Cohen's "Stranger Song" which has these lyrics:

(These aren't all the lyrics, but they're the part of the song I pinged on, especially the highlighted parts. Except maybe it's a little heavy and dark ... I need to go listen to that Bob Dylan song the others are referencing!)

It's true that all the men you knew
were dealers who said they were through
with dealing every time you gave them shelter.
I know that kind of man. It's hard to hold the hand of anyone
who is reaching for the sky just to surrender.

And sweeping up the jokers that he left behind
you'll find he did not leave you very much not even laughter.
Like any dealer he was watching for the card
that is so high and wild he'll never need to deal another.
He was just some Joseph looking for a manger.

And then leaning on your window-sill
he'll say one day you caused his will
to weaken with your love and warmth and shelter.
And then taking from his wallet an old schedule of trains, he'll say,
I told you when I came I was a stranger.

But now another stranger seems
to want you to ignore his dreams,
as though they were the burden of some other.
You've seen that man before, his golden arm dispatching cards,
but now it's rusted from the elbow to the finger.
And he wants to trade the game he plays for shelter.

[sabotabby]

I am here for it.

[pameladean]

WOW, now I have to find that! P.

[asakiyume]

Oh it's marvelous, especially if, like me, you like Leonard Cohen: The Stranger Song

[smokingboot]

Jack o'Hearts oh, Jack o'Hearts oh,
Each maiden you charm
My hopes you have broken
And my heart you disarm
If you swear you love me
I'll count that no harm
Jack o'Hearts oh, Jack o' Hearts oh,
Each maiden you charm!

Jack o'Diamonds, Jack o'Diamonds
You bagman you thief
You promise such plenty
It beggars belief
Then you wink at a penny
And bring all to grief
Jack o' Diamonds, Jack o' Diamonds
You bagman you thief!

Jack o'Clubs oh Jack o'Clubs oh
Work hard and you'll gain,
The world gladly gives you
much gold and more fame
If you risk it on a ticket
For sure you'll know shame
Jack o' Clubs oh, Jack o' Clubs oh
Work hard and you'll gain!

Jack o' Spades oh, Jack o Spades oh,
You cutthroat you knave!
More blood on your hands
than a barber's worst shave,
and if you ain't at the funeral
You're right by the grave.
Jack o' Spades oh, Jack o spades oh
You cutthroat you knave!

Four Jacks oh Four Jacks oh
Most sly in the land,
Whatever's to come oh
It won't be as planned.
Box clever my darlin'
And keep close your hand,
Four Jack oh Four Jacks oh
Most sly in the land!

[asakiyume]

OMG I LOVE THIS, AMAZING!!

I can't even pick a favorite line, there are so many winners!

My hopes you have broken
And my heart you disarm
If you swear you love me
I'll count that no harm ---Yesssss!

And

You bagman you thief
You promise such plenty
It beggars belief
Then you wink at a penny
And bring all to grief ---Love it!

And this one tickles me silly:

You cutthroat you knave!
More blood on your hands
than a barber's worst shave


(What about the poor Jack of Clubs? I love that verse too, for the overall effect: there are the false promises of the Jack of Diamonds, but then there are the false promises of society: work hard and you'll prosper [yeah, right...]--which is what that verse seems to show)

And the conclusion is just fabulous.

I wish everyone could read this! I would like to hear it sung, too.

[smokingboot]

Ah you are very kind, thank you! There is tune that goes with it, but I can't write music so...

[asakiyume]

If you have a youtube account, you could film a static scene--say the view out your window--with you singing the tune, upload that, and then people (me!) could listen ;-)

[asakiyume]

Can I feature the poem in a separate post?

[smokingboot]

You are very welcome!

[asakiyume]

And done! Thank you so much!

[squirrelitude]

The other thing I've heard is that some alcoholics buy nips because that enforces a single, small serving. (And also that it's a way of hiding their habit from a partner at home.)

[asakiyume]

*nodding*

Clearly whoever invented the concept had a winning idea, capitalistically speaking, as the roadside litter attests to! For a while I used to pick them up and decorate them for tiny messages in bottles.

[(Anonymous)]

Hmmmmmm... new card suits: my first thought was some food suits, but I'm not sure exactly how I would want it to work:

• maybe grains, proteins, fruits, & vegetables?
  
• maybe just grains—a suit each for recipes made with wheat, with rice, with maize-corn, and with other grains (or whatever takes the place of grains in diets around the world), with brightly-colored art of international scenes on the cards, showing people with the finished recipes, in typical homes and traditional dress?

Or, moving a bit away from food:

• trees & shrubs, grasses, fruits/vegetables, & fungi? or
  
• creatures: mammals, birds, reptiles/amphibians, & bugs? or
  
• creatures (or plants) of wetlands, deserts, forests, and grasslands? or
  
• creatures (or plants) of tropics, temperate zones, arctic/antarctic, and underwater habitats?
  
• earth, air, fire, & water? (the four suits of the popular Rider-Waite Tarot deck are pentacles, swords, staves, and cups, each corresponding to an "element" and a direction, in NeoPagan symbolism...)

And so on...I can think of lots of possibilities!

Re the Jack of Hearts, my only association is with the Queen of Hearts nursery rhyme, where he appears as a thieving Knave: [Wikipedia link] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Queen_of_Hearts_(poem))

I found three different songs about the Jack of Diamonds on YouTube, though—one Blues, one Country & Western, and one some sort of very noisy relative of Heavy Metal!

The other two card-playing songs that come to my mind are not Jack-specific: The Gambler (aka Know When to Hold'Em, recorded but not written by Kenny Loggins), and The Ballad of Weaverville (https://youtu.be/0nNI1Lyl5xY) (by Mary McCaslin).

Weaverville is a real place in inland northern California mountain country—I've been there. Wikipedia says the Ballad is fictional, but it's plausible as a story that's set during a Gold Rush—Weaverville is in a part of California that was heavily (and destructively) mined for gold. I like the song, and I suspect you might, also.

...The links above are not showing up correctly in Preview 🤨 —let's see if they work when posted.

[asakiyume]

Many good possibilities for suits!

I know the nursery rhyme; I can picture illustrations from a book from my childhood. I will save "The Ballad of Weaverville" as a treat for tomorrow ^_^

[light_of_summer]

🙂👍

...I see the links are not working in the above. Hmmm...Switching from Casual HTML to Raw HTML:

Queen of Hearts poem Wikipedia article

The Ballad of Weaverville

(That's better.)

I like Mary McCaslin's version of Ghost Riders in the Sky, too!

[asakiyume]

It's been a hectic few days, but I'm just now listening to "The Ballad of Weaverville." Mary McCaslin's got a beautiful voice! And I like the song a lot! Thank you so much for sharing it!

[light_of_summer]

Yay! I'm so glad you like it—thanks for letting me know! 😊

[light_of_summer]

I just posted a long comment about this blog entry, only realizing too late that I wasn't logged in on DW. I'm hoping that my comment is in your moderation queue!

[asakiyume]

Yes, I've unscreened it! I'll answer it next :-)

[light_of_summer]

Thanks!