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He deals the cards as a meditation
And those he plays never suspect
He doesn't play for the money he wins
He don't play for respect
He deals the cards to find the answer
The sacred geometry of chance
The hidden law of a probable outcome
The numbers lead a dance
I know that the spades are the swords of a soldier
I know that the clubs are weapons of war
I know that diamonds mean money for this art
But that's not the shape of my heart
He may play the jack of diamonds
He may lay the queen of spades
He may conceal a king in his hand
While the memory of it fades
I know that the spades are the swords of a soldier
I know that the clubs are weapons of war
I know that diamonds mean money for this art
But that's not the shape of my heart
And if I told you that I loved you
You'd maybe think there's something wrong
I'm not a man of too many faces
The mask I wear is one
Those who speak know nothing
And find out to their cost
Like those who curse their luck in too many places
And those who fear are lost
I know that the spades are the swords of a soldier
I know that the clubs are weapons of war
I know that diamonds mean money for this art
But that's not the shape of my heart
And those he plays never suspect
He doesn't play for the money he wins
He don't play for respect
He deals the cards to find the answer
The sacred geometry of chance
The hidden law of a probable outcome
The numbers lead a dance
I know that the spades are the swords of a soldier
I know that the clubs are weapons of war
I know that diamonds mean money for this art
But that's not the shape of my heart
He may play the jack of diamonds
He may lay the queen of spades
He may conceal a king in his hand
While the memory of it fades
I know that the spades are the swords of a soldier
I know that the clubs are weapons of war
I know that diamonds mean money for this art
But that's not the shape of my heart
And if I told you that I loved you
You'd maybe think there's something wrong
I'm not a man of too many faces
The mask I wear is one
Those who speak know nothing
And find out to their cost
Like those who curse their luck in too many places
And those who fear are lost
I know that the spades are the swords of a soldier
I know that the clubs are weapons of war
I know that diamonds mean money for this art
But that's not the shape of my heart
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He sees beyond the alleged differences between himself and "the other players". He sees that, ultimate each player, i.e. each form that is seemingly separate from himself, is nothing but a particular manifestation of "the dealer", the essence of all life. (You may call that God, Krishna, brahman, source, emptiness, consciousness, etc. all are synonymous).
In the bhagavad gita, for example, Arjuna, asks Krishna to show him His true form, Krishna then goes on to show him myriad variations, all possible forms, simulataniously the killer and the killed, hunter and prey...any duality you can imagine, and says that he can be found in all these things. He is the awareness without which the forms cannot be perceived.
The 3 suits are 3 archetypes, representing the ways in which this higher perspective can be obscured.
The suit of spades represents labeling things...in other words, judging them. From this perspective, we place others as well as ourselves into boxes, mental consctructs, etc. and think of them as nothing more than this. When this is done, we fight against the boxes that don't have the label "me" on them.
The suit of clubs represents a group-think/us vs. them mentality. We attempt to become more by associating with a particular group, thereby making those not in this group less. This creates wars between groups.
Diamonds represent the "idealized" life. Reducing your life to a means to an end, rather than an end in itself. Each task we do is less important than some future event which are striving towards. Under this mentality, we cannot understand it when someone tries to help us with no ulterior motive. We assume that others must be trying to use us as a means to an end.
The man, on the other hand sees beyond all these delusions. Thus, these suits are not the shape of his heart. He sees himself as a particular manifestation of the one dealer, here to live in the moment and do the best he can with what he has, while he has it. To play the hand with no goal in mind and see where the chips fall.
In the Tao Te Ching, there is a line that reads those who speak do not knot; those who know do not speak. This is what the line those who speak know nothing and find out to their cost refers to. When we are trapped in one of the three archtypes we sow the seeds of our own sorrows and harm others. Karma ensures that we always reap what we sow. Thus, these people curse their luck in too many places.
The only reason to fear is thinking that the future will not be as we hope. Both hope and fear are traps as they take us away from the only moment that we can truly be alive, right now. This is living in the heart; seeing yourself in the all and the all in yourself. Holding a king in your hand and forgetting about it, in other words.
Finally, two other symbols:
Jack of spades: an ordinary man trying to live "the american dream", losing himself in the process.
Queen of clubs: The ego; the mother of all particular things: naming/judgements.
God is looking for the why in what people do with what their given. Ever since Adam and Eve--nothing is enough, not even the Garden of Eden. (I am going by the Christian lore because that is what is most easily identified with the lyrics.) People want more and more--consumerism is King, Fashion models are crowned Queens, the Jack refers to the everyday "Joe" ("Jack" is also used to mean the average man). Chance has no geometry--it's a mixed metaphor. Geometry can be graphed, chance has no shape--it is not a figure, and the belief in it is a matter of opinion. "He deals the cards to find the answer--the sacred, geometry of chance." This is referring to people who believe or disbelieve in God based upon what happens in their lives--whether it's an athiest who cannot believe in a God when famine exists, or a Priest dedicated to the sacrement with a blind eye and the same answers to everything.
Therefore, God is looking for the hidden law of a probable outcome: that History repeats itself despite new generations, changing times, and multiple variations on world events. The question is: When will they ever learn?
The Jacks:
The Spades are the swords of a soldier has a dual meaning. First, calling a spade a spade originally was defined as being direct when speaking one's mind to another. This can often turn into confrontation, so most of society is passive-aggressive, and expects others to "take a hint." A soldier, unafraid of battle, will draw his sword. The Second meaning is a racial slur against black people in this country that was coined in 1928--this too, reflects an aspect of human nature that many Jacks have--whether it's about race, ethnicity, socioeconomic class, etc.--that putting others down makes many people feel better about themselves.
The Clubs are weapons of war. "Clubs" in this sense is any group of people who have an agenda that either is elitist, exclusionary, or agressive against others. Whether it be the Ku Klux Klan or MENSA--this is again a way that people derive self esteem through the belief that they are superior.
"I know that Diamonds mean money for this art, but that's not the shape of my heart." Sting is talking about himself. He wrote this song, he is the witness, the listeners make him rich, but he is trying to change the way we view society and each other with this song. He acknowledges his music makes him rich, but his heart is not a stone (diamonds are a gemstone).
Sting then speaks of himself to the audience, the people. He makes the music for the good of mankind--to entertain, to teach, to learn from the feedback on his work. But what happens when a celebrity tells fans he loves them? Most think, "He doesn't even know me, how could he love me? What a phony." Sting then says he has no stage-presence other than the one he has in his life. He is just a man.
The Tough Part: I believe Sting is tying together the types of Jacks mentioned--The soldier (spade), the elitists (clubs) are speaking--always. Preaching, criticizing, condeming, complimenting themselves. But as time moves on, they do not. It is impossible to speak and listen at the same time. And if they don't listen, they learn nothing. Not even their dogma can progress/succeed in their goals--and, just like in WWII, strategy went out the window when the "final solution" began--winning the war took a back seat and the Nazis found out to their cost. "Like those who curse their luck in too many places" refers to people who blame anyone or anything except themselves and their own behavior for their misfortunes. That is all I will say--it's far too broad a topic and this is long as shit already. But the last new line, "those who fear are lost" refers to the fourth card class not mentioned. Sting references his own heart, but not that of a card. This is because the average person who is but a heart--with no motives or malice--often either fall victim to abuse, are overwhelmed with emotion and suffering and develop emotional/mental illness, or plain regular folk who are--out of their upbringings, life experiences, etc.--destined to never go after their dreams because somehow they learned helplessness (neglect is a form of abuse, so Pavlov's experiment fits here, as does those with economic hardship/barriers to life change.
If you got through that, I thank you. I welcome comments--I wrote this in one draft so I may have left things out or misspoken, but I can't read it over--I'm tired.
J
Outstanding song. Brilliant production of people at the peak of their art.
12 MONTHS = 12 Crown Cards
13 NEW MOONS per year = 13 Cards per suit
52 WEEKS = 52 Cards
5+2= 7 DAYS IN THE WEEK
and again - 7 x 52= 364 DAYS OF THE YEAR
The crazy Joker, given a value of 1 1/4, takes up the remnant of days (making our LEAP YEAR).
If you add up all the PIPS (Ace equals 1) in a deck of Cards, giving the Jack a value of 11, the Queen a value of 12, the King a value of 13, and the lone fool Joker a value of 1.25, add them all up, you get 365.25 days of the year. That's the leap year included!
Coincidence? Maybe.
A dream where he’s swayed by neither fear nor greed; where he’s an overseer of the game and all who’s it. He’s become a philosopher and his interpretation of the game has become so complex and intricate other players can’t even come to understand. His reading of cards’ mathematics and chances are beyond anyone’s comprehension. And his pleasure and delight is calculated only by the numbers. This obsession of the game is driving him to the verge of insanity. With spades”the swords”, clubs “the weapons”, and diamonds “the greed” he can’t find the comfort zone. It is a continuing war driven by greed and will to survive. He chooses not to keep the memory of these recurring events.
His uneasy heart is longing for an outlet: love. Weather the woman is real or not, it is not important to him. His interpretation of the cards must be substantiated. Heart s unlike spades, clubs or diamonds has a soft side…a much vulnerable side where he can reveal his true identity and find relieve. He’s willing to persuade and even make a plea to barter for love. He then compares himself with the rest of the crowd to prove his unadulterated character. It his love real or calculated? He’s not even sure. But it is all in the game…..as his dreams.
The use of the verb "lay" in the second line of verse two has an obvious meaning, but the meaning of "[playing] the Jack of Diamonds" remains ambiguous. He could be emulating the qualities that card represents, hiding his true self, which would explain why the qualities of the king are concealed if not why he conceals them. The Jack of Diamonds could also represent another man, likely another person who vies for or previously had the affections of the woman represented by the Queen of Spades. In this case, "play" is either used in the sense of "to compete with," implying an open confrontation, or "to play for a fool," which would indicate an attempt to defeat him through cons and subtle trickery.
On another tangent, there were two words I always misheard in the third verse. I thought he said, "Baby, think there's something wrong" and "I am a man of too many faces" instead of "You'd maybe think..." and "I'm not a man...", respectively. In my misheard version, these lines were a warning: don't trust me, I'm not who you think I am. Seeing the correct version, however, makes it clear that the singer laments the false face he projects. He wishes she would trust him _because_ he isn't who she thinks he is; he's a far better person than his mask would suggest.
I mean, it's possible that someone else came up with concept before but who besides Sting can express that in the song and make it work?
We've seen a lot of metaphores like moon,rivers,highway,sky, etc, but cards??? Simply amazing.
And we've recently seen that NOT everyone can use it and make it work (I'm referring to Lady Ga-Ga's "Poker Face", which is a nice tune, I admit, but the lyrics are crap and the way she uses the game/cards as a metaphore in it is just ridiculous.)