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Subject: RED DECK OF CARDS
THE RED DECK OF CARDS
Recorded by: Tex Ritter
Writer: Red River Dave McEnery
It was during the last days of the prisoner exchange in Korea,
I was there as they came through Freedom Gate, shattered, sick
and lame. There in a red cross tent, as the weary group rested,
a soldier broke out a deck of cards. A look of hate crossed the
tired face of one boy as he sprang up - knocking the cards to the
ground. As the cards lay around, many of them face up, he picked
up the Ace and began.
"Fellows," he said, "I'm sorry, but I hate cards. The commies tried
to use them to teach us their false doctrine. They told us the "ACE",
meant that there's one God, the state. We knew that to be untrue
for we were religious boys"
"And the "DEUCE" meant there were two great leaders. Only two.
Lenin and Stalin. And we couldn't swallow that either."
"And this "TREY" stood for three religious superstitions that the
Reds would soon destroy. The Catholic, the Protestants and the
Jewish."
This black "FOUR", the soldier boy continued, stood for the four
corners of the earth, where the Hammer and Sickle would soon
reign supreme. There in that prison camp, far away from home, we
hoped it was a lie.
And this red "FIVE", was the five points in their Red Star. Tears
were streaming down the boy's face, as he picked up the six.
And this "SIX", the commies told us, stood for the sixth and final
wars that America had luckily won.
The Revolutionary war, the war of 1812, the Civil War, the Spanish
American war, World War I, and number six - World War II.
Now in this war, this cold war, America would be destroyed.
And the "SEVEN", stood for our seventh foolish day, Sunday,
which we wasted on our Lord.
The "EIGHT", stood for the 8 hours every day we would have to
spend learning to be, uh, progressive.
The "NINE", for the cat-of-nine tails, lashed across our backs if we
ever knelt to pray.
The "TEN", was to remind us that our ten commandments, were ten stupid
rules that only Capitalistic fools believed in. That's what they
told us.
The "JACK" meant that Christ was a knave of uncertain birth.
The "QUEEN", that maybe his mother was a non-virtuous woman.
And the "KING", stood for our Lord God whom the commies told us did
not exist. A dream, a fake, a joke. That's what they told us.
The HEART stood for Christ's blood, all shed in vain.
The DIAMOND signified the real precious jewel, the communist party.
The CLUB - the weapon of oppression with which they beat us;
And the SPADE - a tool with which we would dig our own graves
This was the RED DECK OF CARDS.
So you see fellows, the soldier boy said, that's why I hate cards.
His buddies picked up the cards torn them into pieces and with
shining faces walked arm in arm toward a simple chapel in Korea.
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