C90:Songs about Gambling

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Rolling Stones-"Tumbling Dice"
Motorhead-"Ace of Spades"
Link Wray-"Ace of Spades" (yeah, it's an instrumental, but it's still cool)
Camper Van Beethoven-"When I Win The Lottery"
Elvis Presley and/or Dead Kennedys-"Viva Las Vegas"
The Clash-"The Card Cheat"
and of course,
Kenny Rogers-"The Gambler"

― Charles McCain (Charles McCain), Friday, 23 May 2003 15:01 (twenty-two years ago)

Your turn.

― Charles McCain (Charles McCain), Friday, 23 May 2003 15:02 (twenty-two years ago)

there's a line in the New Pornographers "Letter From An Occupant" about "bet the hand that your money is on" or some nonsense bullshit like that.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Friday, 23 May 2003 15:11 (twenty-two years ago)

Wilco - Casino Queen
Gram Parsons - Ooh, Las Vegas

― pauls00, Friday, 23 May 2003 15:12 (twenty-two years ago)

Just about any version of 'Staggerlee'.

― James Ball (James Ball), Friday, 23 May 2003 15:13 (twenty-two years ago)

Shit, i forgot all about "Stagger Lee" (which should be #1 in my mind).
Another one: AC/DC-"The Jack" (as metaphor)

― Charles McCain (Charles McCain), Friday, 23 May 2003 15:26 (twenty-two years ago)

Clarence Ashley – The Cuckoo Bird
"Jack of Diamonds, Jack of DIamonds/ I've known you from old / now you've robbed my poor pockets / Of my silver and my gold."

― Fivvy (Fivvy), Friday, 23 May 2003 15:27 (twenty-two years ago)

REM "Everybody Hurts" ("Don't throw your hand")

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Friday, 23 May 2003 15:47 (twenty-two years ago)

The Pogues' "Bottle of Smoke" (gamblin on da ponies!)

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 23 May 2003 15:53 (twenty-two years ago)

What was that Joe Ely song (that Tom Russell wrote) that was about gambling on cock fights?

― Charles McCain (Charles McCain), Friday, 23 May 2003 15:58 (twenty-two years ago)

Hamell on Trial - I'm Gonna Win the Lottery
stretch:
The Who - You Better You Bet

― dave225 (Dave225), Friday, 23 May 2003 16:04 (twenty-two years ago)

'riverboat gaaaamblers, bound to lose'

bound to lose, holy modal rounders (and loads of others probably)

― joni, Friday, 23 May 2003 16:05 (twenty-two years ago)

does Madonna's 'Gambler' count - even if its just a gamble of love rather than of the monetary ilk?

― stevem (blueski), Friday, 23 May 2003 16:16 (twenty-two years ago)

if so then,

abba "the winner takes it all"

― gygax! (gygax!), Friday, 23 May 2003 17:30 (twenty-two years ago)

Beastie Boys - "3 MCs & 1 DJ"

"Kenny Rogers' Gambler is my gamblin' theme."

― Nick H, Friday, 23 May 2003 17:48 (twenty-two years ago)

"I Lost On Jeopardy"

― Jody Beth Rosen (Jody Beth Rosen), Friday, 23 May 2003 18:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Compulsive Gamblers

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Friday, 23 May 2003 18:31 (twenty-two years ago)

big l's "casualities of a dice game"

there are about a million other songs at least referencing dice/craps/celo by nas, jay-z, biggie, etc. - the street hustlers. i started listing some but it got out of hand.

they probably play dice on the west coast too.

― brian badword (badwords), Saturday, 24 May 2003 01:23 (twenty-two years ago)

Blood, Sweat & Tears, "Go Down Gamblin'"

― t\'\'t (t\'\'t), Saturday, 24 May 2003 14:00 (twenty-two years ago)

juiceboxxx-high roller

― juiceboxxx (juiceboxxx), Saturday, 24 May 2003 15:58 (twenty-two years ago)

"One by One" by Gutterball talks about going to OTB. "The Vegas Strip" by Firewater talks about...well...gambling in Vegas. "You Better You Bet" by the Who....well, not really.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Saturday, 24 May 2003 21:20 (twenty-two years ago)

Leonard Cohen's "A Thousand Kisses Deep" (The ponies run, the girls are young/The odds are there to beat/You win a while, and then it’s done – /Your little winning streak...).

Neil Jordan's The Good Thief makes brilliant use of it.

― Wired Flounder (Wired Flounder), Saturday, 24 May 2003 22:22 (twenty-two years ago)

my girl by the hoodoo gurus is about a greyhound. well it is in the video clip where they go to the track to watch said doggie. ruff ruff

― gallantseagull, Monday, 26 May 2003 02:28 (twenty-two years ago)

Fairytale of New York also starts with Shane winning the cash to emigrate on "a lucky one, came in at 18/1".

And Dylan's "Lily, Rosemany and the Jack of Hearts"

Wired Flounder's right about the great use of that song in The Good Thief.

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Monday, 26 May 2003 11:53 (twenty-two years ago)

juice newton - queen of hearts

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Monday, 26 May 2003 11:55 (twenty-two years ago)

'Up on Cripple Creek' by The Band

"Good luck had just stung me, to the race track I did go
She bet on one horse to win and I bet on another to show
The odds were in my favor, I had 'em five to one
When that nag to win came around the track, sure enough she had won"

― James Ball (James Ball), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 07:59 (twenty-two years ago)

The don of them all:

Main Source - "Snake eyes"

Also, in a convoluted metaphorical fashion,

Townes van Zandt - "Mr mud and mr gold""

― Jacob (Jacob), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 08:19 (twenty-two years ago)

Rush - "Roll the Bones"

― mei (mei), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 09:49 (twenty-two years ago)

Buzzard Luck~Swamp Dogg

― thomas de'aguirre (biteylove), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 15:06 (twenty-two years ago)

Camptown Races sing this song, doo-dah! Doo-dah!
Camptown Race is five miles long! Oh de doo dah day!

― Fivvy (Fivvy), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 17:24 (twenty-two years ago)

Morphine, "Have a Lucky Day"

― Prude (Prude), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 17:41 (twenty-two years ago)

Frank Sinatra - "Luck Be A Lady"
Bob Seger - "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man"
Allman Brothers - "Louisiana Lou and Three Card Monty John"

― Mr. Diamond (diamond), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 18:12 (twenty-two years ago)

one month passes...

My 2 bits of copper:
Blind Willie McTell - Dying Crapshooter's Blues
Soledad Brothers - Bream 'Em On Down

― AlienBoy (AlienBoy), Monday, 7 July 2003 05:47 (twenty-two years ago)

King Missile: "The Fish that Played the Ponies"

"This is the fable of the fish that played the ponies. It is
important to keep in mind that in this story the fish is not
meant to symbolize Christ"

― OleM (OleM), Monday, 7 July 2003 06:29 (twenty-two years ago)

six months pass...

How about...

Sunshine by Jonathon Edwards "He's got cards he ain't showin'."
Still The Same by Bob Segar "You always said the cards would never do you wrong. The trick you said is never paly the game too long."
Desperado by The Eagles "Don't you draw the queen of diamonds boy, she'll beat you if she's able. You know the queen of hearts is always your best bet."
Do It Again by Steely Dan "Now you swear and kick in Vegas that your not a gambling man, but you find yourself in Vegas with a handle in your hand..."
Saturday Night Special by Lynyrd Skynyrd "playing poker on a loosing night. Pretty soon Big Jim starts to thinking that someone is cheating..."
Lawyers, Guns and Money by Warren Zevon "I was gambling in Honduras. I took a little risk..."
City Of New Orleans by Arlo Guthrie "Dealing cards with the old men in the club car; penny a point and no one keeping score."
Truckin' by The Grateful Dead "Sometimes the cards ain't worth a dime if you don't lay them down."

― Mr. Gates, Friday, 6 February 2004 04:49 (twenty-two years ago)

House of the Rising Sun - pick your version, but mine is by the Animals.

― jim wentworth (wench), Friday, 6 February 2004 05:00 (twenty-two years ago)

four weeks pass...

Of A Revolution- crazy game of poker

― , Friday, 5 March 2004 06:07 (twenty-two years ago)

Of A Revolution- crazy game of poker

― John Stweart, Friday, 5 March 2004 06:07 (twenty-two years ago)

Nitzinger, "Louisiana Cock Fight"
Ice Cube, "What They Hittin Foe?"
Saga, "Wind Him Up"

― Myonga Von Bontee, Friday, 5 March 2004 18:24 (twenty-two years ago)

Grateful Dead, "Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodleloo"

― morris pavilion (samjeff), Friday, 5 March 2004 18:26 (twenty-two years ago)

Robert Mitchum - Roving Gambler
Lalo Schiffrin - The Cincinnati Kid
Reverend Horton Heat - Aces High
The Persuaders - Las Vegas (High Stakes)
Lovage - Stroker Ace

― eleki-san (eleki-san), Friday, 5 March 2004 18:52 (twenty-two years ago)

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