Jack of Diamonds

I walked to school on Monday and when I stepped in the door
The other girls were gathered in a circle on the floor
Their slates and books were resting, dejected upon their desks
Their skirts bloomed around them like spring tulips
Their skirts bloomed around them like spring tulips

Henrietta glanced up, called to come and see
Peering o'er the ponytails, all was revealed to me
A shiny deck of playing cards was strewn upon the ground
Hastily we snatched them up as the bell began to sound
Hastily we snatched them up as the bell began to sound

When the lessons ended, we lingered in the street
Counted up and made sure that the whole deck was complete
When Henrietta handed the entire lot to me
She said, Annabelle tonight keep all the cards to be
She said, Annabelle tonight won't you keep them safe for me?

When I got home, I crept into my room and shut the door
Knew I should be stealthy, still I spread them on the floor
Red and black and yellow, green, blue, purple and white
All the faces of the kings and queens brought color flee to life
Yea the faces of the royalty brought color flee to life

I didn't hear my mother until it was too late
Like a storm out of the southwest, she knew it and she raged
Before I knew what hit me, all the cards were in her hands
She was screaming at the devil, through the kitchen far she ran
She was screaming at the devil, through the kitchen far she ran

Hot on her heels in horror, I knelt before the flames
Where the beauty of each number was burned into my brain
My hands deep in my pockets, my teary eyes cast down
My mother learned me all the places Satan can be found
My mother learned me all the places Satan can be found

She said, betting may seem harmless, a game of cards can lead
To greed and lust and whiskey, given infidelity
She made me swear to never hold the devil's deck again
But I've still got the jack of diamonds underneath my bed
Yea, I've still got the jack of diamonds underneath my bed