Bob Dylan - Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts (Official Audio)

Lyrics: The festival was over, the boys were all plannin’ for a fall The cabaret was quiet except for the drillin’ in the wall The curfew had been lifted and the gamblin’ wheel shut down Anyone with any sense had already left town He was standin’ in the doorway lookin’ like the Jack of Hearts He moved across the mirrored room, “Set it up for everyone, “ he said Then everyone commenced to do what they were doin’ before he turned their heads Then he walked up to a stranger and he asked him with a grin “Could you kindly tell me, friend, what time the show begins?“ Then he moved into the corner, face down like the Jack of Hearts Backstage the girls were playin’ five-card stud by the stairs Lily had two queens, she was hopin’ for a third to match her pair Outside the streets were fillin’ up, the window was open wide A gentle breeze was blowin’, you could feel it from inside Lily called another bet and drew up the Jack of Hearts Big Jim was no one’s fool, he owned the town’s only diamond mine He made his usual entrance lookin’ so dandy and so fine With his bodyguards and silver cane and every hair in place He took whatever he wanted to and he laid it all to waste But his bodyguards and silver cane were no match for the Jack of Hearts Rosemary combed her hair and took a carriage into town She slipped in through the side door lookin’ like a queen without a crown She fluttered her false eyelashes and whispered in his ear “Sorry, darlin’, that I’m late, “ but he didn’t seem to hear He was starin’ into space over at the Jack of Hearts “I know I’ve seen that face before, “ Big Jim was thinkin’ to himself “Maybe down in Mexico or a picture up on somebody’s shelf“ But then the crowd began to stamp their feet and the house lights did dim And in the darkness of the room there was only Jim and him Starin’ at the butterfly who just drew the Jack of Hearts Lily was a princess, she was fair-skinned and precious as a child She did whatever she had to do, she had that certain flash every time she smiled She’d come away from a broken home, had lots of strange affairs With men in every walk of life which took her everywhere But she’d never met anyone quite like the Jack of Hearts The hangin’ judge came in unnoticed and was being wined and dined The drillin’ in the wall kept up but no one seemed to pay it any mind It was known all around that Lily had Jim’s ring And nothing would ever come between Lily and the king No, nothin’ ever would except maybe the Jack of Hearts