A Deck Of Cards

During the North African Campagne
A bunch of soldier boys had been on a long hike
And they arrived in a little town called Casino
The next morning, being Sunday, several of the boys went to church
A Sargent commanded the boys in church
And after the chaplain had read the prayer
The text was taken up next
Those of the boys who had a prayer books took them out
But, this one boy had only a deck of cards
And so he spread them out
The Sargent saw the cards and said, "Soldier, put away those cards"
After the services were over, the soldier was taken prisoner
And brought before the Provost Marshall
The marshal said, "Sergeant, why have you brought this man here?"
"For playing cards in church Sir"
"And what have you to say for yourself Son?"
"Much, Sir," replied the soldier
The marshal said, "I hope so, for if not I shall punish you more than any man was ever punished"
The soldier said, "Sir, I have been on the march for about six days
I have neither Bible nor 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 testament
When I see the trey, I think of the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost
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 great Heaven and Earth
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
God saved when he destroyed this Earth
There was Noah, his wife, their three sons, and their wives
And when I see the nine, I think of the lepers our Saviour cleansed
And, nine out of the ten, didn't even thank him
When I see the ten, I think of the ten commandments
God handed down to Moses on a table 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 Queen of Heaven, and the Jack of Knaves 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 pack of cards serves me as a Bible
An Almanac, and a prayer book
And friends, the story is true, I know
I was that soldier