Songs about Poker

Subject: RE: Songs about Poker
From: Joe_F
Date: 08 Oct 17 - 06:18 PM

Guest Gerry: Thank you very much! So all those songs are actually contaminated with pinochle! Who would have guessed?

Subject: RE: Songs about Poker
From: Long Firm Freddie
Date: 08 Oct 17 - 04:52 PM

There's Lady Gaga's Poker Face of course:

I wanna hold 'em like they do in Texas plays
Fold 'em, let 'em, hit me, raise it baby stay with me (I love it)
Love Game intuition play the cards with spades to start
And after he's been hooked I'll play the one that's on his heart

LFF

Subject: RE: Songs about Poker
From: Richie
Date: 08 Oct 17 - 01:48 PM

Hi,

I sing Wagon Wheel (Dylan/Old Crow composite) which has a short line about playing poker.

Richie

Subject: RE: Songs about Poker
From: MudGuard
Date: 08 Oct 17 - 01:36 PM

Kenny Rogers - The Gambler
Chris de Burgh - Spanish Train

Subject: RE: Songs about Poker
From: Howard Kaplan
Date: 08 Oct 17 - 01:06 PM

There's a card game of some sort mentioned in the Bob Ruzicka song "The dealer", which was recorded by Judy Collins. It was the subject of a previous Mudcat thread.

There is a reference to playing cribbage in "Farmer in Florida", mentioned in this other previous Mudcat thread and a reference to a cribbage board in "Father's whiskers", mentioned in this one.

Subject: RE: Songs about Poker
From: Mark Ross
Date: 08 Oct 17 - 12:40 PM

ACES, STRAIGHTS, & FLUSHES Utah Phillips & Kate Wolfe

Subject: RE: Songs about Poker
From: Jack Campin
Date: 08 Oct 17 - 04:55 AM

The Queen of Spades features in Tchaikovsky's opera based on a Pushkin short story, which I hadn't thought about for years. So I googled "queen of spades" - and got some pretty surprising results.

The only card game I've ever played much is contract bridge (a long time ago). Dunno if there are songs about it, but there is a bar in Budapest which combines bridge and jazz - they run both bridge events and jazz gigs, with most of the decor being bridge-themed (photos of heroes of Hungarian bridge and the like).

Subject: RE: Songs about Poker
From: GUEST
Date: 07 Oct 17 - 10:54 PM

"Loser" --Grateful Dead

Subject: RE: Songs about Poker
From: GUEST,Gerry
Date: 07 Oct 17 - 10:09 PM

Joe F, nothing special about the Jack of Diamonds in poker, but it's very special in pinochle. Indeed, the combination of the Quuen of Spades and the Jack of Diamonds is called a pinochle in that game.

Subject: RE: Songs about Poker
From: Richard Mellish
Date: 07 Oct 17 - 06:07 PM

And of course The Game of All Fours, Roud 232, which is about that very card game or about something else, according to how you choose to interpret it.

Subject: RE: Songs about Poker
From: Joe_F
Date: 07 Oct 17 - 05:24 PM

The floating verse

Jack of diamonds, jack of diamonds
I know you of old.
You rob my poor pockets
Of silver and gold.

must have contaminated numberless songs with poker.

And what *is* it about the jack of diamonds, anyway?

Subject: RE: Songs about Poker
From: GMGough
Date: 07 Oct 17 - 05:20 PM

Mr Mudd and Mr Gold - Townes van Zandt

The Crofters in Bristol, circa 1964, had a song:
"The Queen will take the Jack,
and the Jack will take the Ten" etc

Subject: RE: Songs about Poker
From: GUEST,Gerry
Date: 07 Oct 17 - 05:03 PM

Tom Paxton, The Name of the Game is Stud

Subject: RE: Songs about Poker
From: GUEST,Gerry
Date: 07 Oct 17 - 04:59 PM

Me and My Uncle
recorded by many, e.g., Judy Collins: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2MrTLYJs_8

Subject: RE: Songs about Poker
From: GUEST,Gerry
Date: 07 Oct 17 - 04:55 PM

Weaverville
recorded by Kate Wolf: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWc3H28t3uQ

Subject: RE: Songs about Poker
From: Jack Campin
Date: 07 Oct 17 - 04:47 PM

That would work great on an oud!

Subject: RE: Songs about Poker
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 07 Oct 17 - 04:35 PM

There is Lazy Poker Blues by Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac!

Subject: Songs about Poker
From: Jack Campin
Date: 07 Oct 17 - 04:13 PM

The Greek/Turkish/Arabic/Balkan band I play with is probably going to a different flat for rehearsals shortly. Which means we overlap with the singer/ney-player's boyfriend's poker night.

What songs about poker (or card games in general) are there? Bonus points if there's one from the eastern Mediterranean but anything singable will do.