Cards & Women
This happened when I watched The Gambler (1974) with a guitar beside me. It's not massively faithful to the film, but Carmine keeps his name, and the mother is there. I made the party a Christmas dinner. It felt more domestic, and made the mother/son betrayal keener. It also puts Christ in the narrator's mind, and nudges him towards the two JCs in the final verse. (James Caan plays the gambler, so the initials get a good workout.)
I like that it changes key on the very last chord.
A babe Ruth baseball card will sell for anything from $50 to $500,000.
I took a ride with Carmine
He didn't mean me any harm
It's just the working man's condition
And his working man's condition was
He had to break my arm
'Cause cards and women keep doing
What cards and women do
Sometimes you're the pocket ace
Sometimes you're the two
My mother stood over the turkey
She drank a health to the general joy
I'll tell you what I'd enjoy, mother
It's a check in the mid five figures
Made out to your blue-eyed boy
But cards and your mother keep doing
What cards and women do
Sometimes you're the pocket ace
Sometimes you're the two
Of course, I had to steal her bracelets
And her father's Subaru
My brother spends his money on baseball cards
He's got drawer after drawer of baseball cards
He won't miss a Babe Ruth or two
I stole handguns, prams and bowling balls
I stole Armani and J Crew
I would have stole Jesus Christ if he wasn't nailed down
But I never once stole from you
But cards and gamblers keep doing
What cards and gamblers do
Sometimes you're the pocket ace
And sometimes you're the two