He reuses the verse melody from the previous album's "Dirty Little Religion", the topics of the verses are all over the place, and he packs too many words into one line (goes to show...) and too few in another (it's pretty hard to find), and rhymes "Henley Regatta" with "Persona non grata", but gets away with it all as only he could.
Yellow bird, yellow moon
You've arrived while the spring is out of tune
River run, river slow
From the Grand Coulee Dam to Jericho
To the island where the wounded echoes go
Over that horizon, past the streets of Evangeline
There's a boy among the redwood and the pine
Jack of diamonds, you're no friend of mine
Seventeen, seven sins
Can we just hide here before the war begins?
River run, river rage
From the beak of a yellow bird beside a cage
To a field of broken drums upon a stage
Over that horizon, past the streets of Evangeline
Past the bedrooms where the wounded girls recline
Jack of diamonds, you're no friend of mine
Where do you go dear? Who do you know, dear?
Who do you rage for tonight?
Who do you lie beside? Who do you sigh beside?
Who do you look to for a sign?
I'm a boy among the redwood and the pine
I hear the sirens out on the county line
Jack of diamonds, you're no friend of mine
You've arrived while the spring is out of tune
River run, river slow
From the Grand Coulee Dam to Jericho
To the island where the wounded echoes go
Over that horizon, past the streets of Evangeline
There's a boy among the redwood and the pine
Jack of diamonds, you're no friend of mine
Seventeen, seven sins
Can we just hide here before the war begins?
River run, river rage
From the beak of a yellow bird beside a cage
To a field of broken drums upon a stage
Over that horizon, past the streets of Evangeline
Past the bedrooms where the wounded girls recline
Jack of diamonds, you're no friend of mine
Where do you go dear? Who do you know, dear?
Who do you rage for tonight?
Who do you lie beside? Who do you sigh beside?
Who do you look to for a sign?
I'm a boy among the redwood and the pine
I hear the sirens out on the county line
Jack of diamonds, you're no friend of mine
Lyrics submitted by eclipse799
Jack of Diamonds Lyrics as written by Justin Rutledge
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Like a lot of the other comments are saying, I think this mainly about voyeurism. If the song was about his girlfriend, then why would he use the word spy. If you are a spy it means you shouldn't be caught, that is kind of the whole point, and if you are a voyeur, the whole point of the pleasure you get from it, is the fact that the other people don't know you are watching them. See a bit of a connection there?
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Insane Ian
The way this song speaks to me🥺🥺when I sing it I feel like I relate
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Both as a standalone and as part of the DSOTS album, you can take this lyric as read. As a matter of public record, Jourgensen's drug intake was legendary even in the 1980s. By the late 90s, in his own words, he was grappling with massive addiction issues and had lost almost everything: friends, spouse, money and had nearly died more than once. "Dark Side of the Spoon" is a both funny & sad title for an album made by a musical genius who was losing the plot; and this song is a message to his fans & friends saying he knows it. It's painful to listen to so I'm glad the "Keith Richards of industrial metals" wised up and cleaned up. Well done sir.
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Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.