Queen Of Spades Lyrics
It's about gambling I believe. Great imagery since the Queen of Spades is not your run of the mill poker card-- she's death in both hearts and murder (a poker variation), and of course, a woman, so a lover analogy (enhanced by the "Luck Be a Lady"/Guys and Dolls and black widow spider, which eat their male mates) fits nicely as well.
The chorus sounds a little like Queen-- do you think it's possible this is a tongue-in-cheek homage to them? The two bands were very similar in ways.
IT SHOULD BE CALLED THE KING OF SPADES, WHICH IS TOMMY SHAW LYING ABOUT HIS WIFE CUPPY SMITH!\r\n\r\nIT SHOULD BE CALLED THE KING OF SPADES, WHICH IS TOMMY SHAW LYING ABOUT HIS WIFE CUPPY SMITH! She got screwed over by this lying snake loser Tommy Shaw! He got the idea from the song and movie “The Gambler” by Kenny Rogers and also the song “Desperado” by The Eagles with the line Queen of Spades. Both Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton the members of the Eagles including Dennis DeYoung and James Young and Lawrence Gawan were involved in slandering Cuppy Smith!...
IT SHOULD BE CALLED THE KING OF SPADES, WHICH IS TOMMY SHAW LYING ABOUT HIS WIFE CUPPY SMITH!\r\n\r\nIT SHOULD BE CALLED THE KING OF SPADES, WHICH IS TOMMY SHAW LYING ABOUT HIS WIFE CUPPY SMITH! She got screwed over by this lying snake loser Tommy Shaw! He got the idea from the song and movie “The Gambler” by Kenny Rogers and also the song “Desperado” by The Eagles with the line Queen of Spades. Both Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton the members of the Eagles including Dennis DeYoung and James Young and Lawrence Gawan were involved in slandering Cuppy Smith! Poor Cuppy Smith never stood a chance! Poor Queen of Spades never stood a chance! Cuppy Smith is the Queen of Spades! Cuppy hated gambling and never worked or went to a casino!\r\n
It was also inspired by Billy Joel\\'s song "Big Shot"(1978) in which Billy Joel was also involved along with Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton the members of the Eagles including Dennis DeYoung and James Young and Lawrence Gawan were involved in slandering Cuppy Smith!
It was also inspired by Billy Joel\\'s song "Big Shot"(1978) in which Billy Joel was also involved along with Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton the members of the Eagles including Dennis DeYoung and James Young and Lawrence Gawan were involved in slandering Cuppy Smith!
It was also inspired by Billy Joel\'s song "Big Shot"(1978) in which Billy Joel was also involved along with Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton the members of the Eagles including Dennis DeYoung and James Young and Lawrence Gawan were involved in slandering Cuppy Smith!
It was also inspired by Billy Joel\'s song "Big Shot"(1978) in which Billy Joel was also involved along with Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton the members of the Eagles including Dennis DeYoung and James Young and Lawrence Gawan were involved in slandering Cuppy Smith!
you forgot about the part right before the last chorus where he says "hahahahaha! You lose!"
definately one of styx's best songs, and the best off of the peices of 8 album.
@Achory IT SHOULD BE CALLED THE KING OF SPADES, WHICH IS TOMMY SHAW LYING ABOUT HIS WIFE CUPPY SMITH! SHE GOT SCREWED OVER BY THIS LYING SNAKE LOSER TOMMY SHAW! HE GOT THE IDEA FROM THE SONG AND MOVIE THE GAMBLER BY KENNY ROGERS AND ALSO THE SONG DESPERADO BY THE EAGLES WITH THE LINE QUEEN OF SPADES. BOTH KENNY ROGERS AND Dolly Parton THE MEMBERS OF THE EAGLES INCLUDING DENNIS DEYOUNG AND JAMES YOUNG AND LAWRENCE GAWAN WERE INVOLVED IN SLANDERING CUPPY SMITH!\r\n\r\nPOOR CUPPY SMITH NEVER STOOD A CHANCE! POOR QUEEN OF SPADES NEVER STOOD A CHANCE! CUPPY SMITH...
@Achory IT SHOULD BE CALLED THE KING OF SPADES, WHICH IS TOMMY SHAW LYING ABOUT HIS WIFE CUPPY SMITH! SHE GOT SCREWED OVER BY THIS LYING SNAKE LOSER TOMMY SHAW! HE GOT THE IDEA FROM THE SONG AND MOVIE THE GAMBLER BY KENNY ROGERS AND ALSO THE SONG DESPERADO BY THE EAGLES WITH THE LINE QUEEN OF SPADES. BOTH KENNY ROGERS AND Dolly Parton THE MEMBERS OF THE EAGLES INCLUDING DENNIS DEYOUNG AND JAMES YOUNG AND LAWRENCE GAWAN WERE INVOLVED IN SLANDERING CUPPY SMITH!\r\n\r\nPOOR CUPPY SMITH NEVER STOOD A CHANCE! POOR QUEEN OF SPADES NEVER STOOD A CHANCE! CUPPY SMITH IS THE QUEEN OF SPADES! CUPPY HATED GAMBLING AND NEVER WORKED OR WENT TO A CASINO!
@Achory IT SHOULD BE CALLED THE KING OF SPADES, WHICH IS TOMMY SHAW LYING ABOUT HIS WIFE CUPPY SMITH! SHE GOT SCREWED OVER BY THIS LYING SNAKE LOSER TOMMY SHAW! HE GOT THE IDEA FROM THE SONG AND MOVIE "THE GAMBLER"(1978) BY KENNY ROGERS AND ALSO THE SONG "DESPERADO" BY THE EAGLES WITH THE LINE QUEEN OF SPADES. BOTH KENNY ROGERS AND Dolly Parton THE MEMBERS OF THE EAGLES INCLUDING DENNIS DEYOUNG AND JAMES YOUNG AND LAWRENCE GAWAN WERE INVOLVED IN SLANDERING CUPPY SMITH!\r\n\r\nPOOR CUPPY SMITH NEVER STOOD A CHANCE! POOR QUEEN OF SPADES NEVER STOOD A CHANCE! CUPPY SMITH...
@Achory IT SHOULD BE CALLED THE KING OF SPADES, WHICH IS TOMMY SHAW LYING ABOUT HIS WIFE CUPPY SMITH! SHE GOT SCREWED OVER BY THIS LYING SNAKE LOSER TOMMY SHAW! HE GOT THE IDEA FROM THE SONG AND MOVIE "THE GAMBLER"(1978) BY KENNY ROGERS AND ALSO THE SONG "DESPERADO" BY THE EAGLES WITH THE LINE QUEEN OF SPADES. BOTH KENNY ROGERS AND Dolly Parton THE MEMBERS OF THE EAGLES INCLUDING DENNIS DEYOUNG AND JAMES YOUNG AND LAWRENCE GAWAN WERE INVOLVED IN SLANDERING CUPPY SMITH!\r\n\r\nPOOR CUPPY SMITH NEVER STOOD A CHANCE! POOR QUEEN OF SPADES NEVER STOOD A CHANCE! CUPPY SMITH IS THE QUEEN OF SPADES! CUPPY HATED GAMBLING AND NEVER WORKED OR WENT TO A CASINO!
Most certainly about gambling. Awesome song.
@sconnors95 \r\nNO, IT IS NOT ABOUT GAMBLING!\r\nTHE SONG QUEEN OF SPADES IS ACTUALLY ABOUT CUPPY SMITH, TOMMY SHAW\'S FIRST WIFE. POOR CUPPY SMITH! POOR QUEEN OF SPADES! THEY NEVER HAD A CHANCE AGAINST THE SLANDER AND THE LIES BY TOMMY, DENNIS, JAMES, AND LAWRENCE! THEY GOT SCREWED BY THOSE FOUR LYING BASTARDS WHO ARE THE KING OF SPADES WHERE HIS LOVE ONLY MEANS YOUR DEATH! YOU LOSE! I WIN BY LYING! THE ENDS JUSTIFY THE MEANS!\r\nThe song Queen of Spades is a slanderous, lying insult to Cuppy Smith, Tommy Shaw\'s first wife(in the same way Big Shot was by Billy...
@sconnors95 \r\nNO, IT IS NOT ABOUT GAMBLING!\r\nTHE SONG QUEEN OF SPADES IS ACTUALLY ABOUT CUPPY SMITH, TOMMY SHAW\'S FIRST WIFE. POOR CUPPY SMITH! POOR QUEEN OF SPADES! THEY NEVER HAD A CHANCE AGAINST THE SLANDER AND THE LIES BY TOMMY, DENNIS, JAMES, AND LAWRENCE! THEY GOT SCREWED BY THOSE FOUR LYING BASTARDS WHO ARE THE KING OF SPADES WHERE HIS LOVE ONLY MEANS YOUR DEATH! YOU LOSE! I WIN BY LYING! THE ENDS JUSTIFY THE MEANS!\r\nThe song Queen of Spades is a slanderous, lying insult to Cuppy Smith, Tommy Shaw\'s first wife(in the same way Big Shot was by Billy Joel to his first wife Elizabeth Ann Weber-she is not the bad person Billy portrays her to be) as they were going through a nasty divorce due to his drug habits(in the same Maxine Feibelman divorced Bernie Taupin for his drinking and drug habits that caused him to he became more meaner(Mr. Mean), nastier, violent, and more abusive to her-he still denies this and never would admit and refuses to apologize) because Dennis was taking over the band. So he asked Dennis to write a nasty song about her, but Dennis decided to change it and make it about Gambling Addiction, but still where Tommy\'s first wife would still be personified. \r\nBoat On A River is actually about Tommy Shaw\'s Drug Trip where he hallucinates that he is still married and serenading Cuppy Smith to win her back, but he was actually divorced.\r\n\r\n\r\n
@sconnors95 \r\nNO, IT IS NOT ABOUT GAMBLING!\r\nTHE SONG QUEEN OF SPADES IS ACTUALLY ABOUT CUPPY SMITH, TOMMY SHAW\'S FIRST WIFE. POOR CUPPY SMITH! POOR QUEEN OF SPADES! THEY NEVER HAD A CHANCE AGAINST THE SLANDER AND THE LIES BY TOMMY, DENNIS, JAMES, AND LAWRENCE! THEY GOT SCREWED BY THOSE FOUR LYING BASTARDS WHO ARE THE KING OF SPADES WHERE HIS LOVE ONLY MEANS YOUR DEATH! YOU LOSE! I WIN BY LYING! THE ENDS JUSTIFY THE MEANS!\r\nThe song Queen of Spades is a slanderous, lying insult to Cuppy Smith, Tommy Shaw\'s first wife(in the same way Big Shot was by Billy...
@sconnors95 \r\nNO, IT IS NOT ABOUT GAMBLING!\r\nTHE SONG QUEEN OF SPADES IS ACTUALLY ABOUT CUPPY SMITH, TOMMY SHAW\'S FIRST WIFE. POOR CUPPY SMITH! POOR QUEEN OF SPADES! THEY NEVER HAD A CHANCE AGAINST THE SLANDER AND THE LIES BY TOMMY, DENNIS, JAMES, AND LAWRENCE! THEY GOT SCREWED BY THOSE FOUR LYING BASTARDS WHO ARE THE KING OF SPADES WHERE HIS LOVE ONLY MEANS YOUR DEATH! YOU LOSE! I WIN BY LYING! THE ENDS JUSTIFY THE MEANS!\r\nThe song Queen of Spades is a slanderous, lying insult to Cuppy Smith, Tommy Shaw\'s first wife(in the same way Big Shot was by Billy Joel to his first wife Elizabeth Ann Weber-she is not the bad person Billy portrays her to be) as they were going through a nasty divorce due to his drug habits(in the same Maxine Feibelman divorced Bernie Taupin for his drinking and drug habits that caused him to he became more meaner(Mr. Mean), nastier, violent, and more abusive to her-he still denies this and never would admit and refuses to apologize) because Dennis was taking over the band. So he asked Dennis to write a nasty song about her, but Dennis decided to change it and make it about Gambling Addiction, but still where Tommy\'s first wife would still be personified. \r\nBoat On A River is actually about Tommy Shaw\'s Drug Trip where he hallucinates that he is still married and serenading Cuppy Smith to win her back, but he was actually divorced.\r\n\r\n\r\n
POOR QUEEN OF SPADES! THE QUEEN OF SPADES HATES GAMBLING! Dennis DeYoung and Lawrence Gowan are male sexist chauvinist jerks and idiots. Why did they not use King of Spades instead? Putting down females in a song, eh? Are you guys The Rolling Stones?\r\nFirst of all, these two idiots need to learn that the Queen of Spades is actually a card that looks like medieval art that didn\'t have linear perspective. Next, I have five stacks of cards that I play at home and I hate gambling and I never gambled or went to a gambling casino in my life....
POOR QUEEN OF SPADES! THE QUEEN OF SPADES HATES GAMBLING! Dennis DeYoung and Lawrence Gowan are male sexist chauvinist jerks and idiots. Why did they not use King of Spades instead? Putting down females in a song, eh? Are you guys The Rolling Stones?\r\nFirst of all, these two idiots need to learn that the Queen of Spades is actually a card that looks like medieval art that didn\'t have linear perspective. Next, I have five stacks of cards that I play at home and I hate gambling and I never gambled or went to a gambling casino in my life. Third, the Queen of Spades is not a real person so blaming a card for one\'s problems is stupid and they are hypocritical in that they say don\'t blame rock music like on the Kilroy Was Here album. But they blame a card for gambling problems. So Dennis and Lawrence are hypocritical in saying don\'t blame rock music but blame a stack of playing cards for one\'s problems. These two need to see a shrink or take women\'s studies or take sensitivity training. The Queen of Spades is crying to me right now "saying I am not to blame for gambling problems. Please don\'t me or my other fellow cards in a gambling casino. And please don\'t make bets when playing cards and don\'t even use fake money as that can lead to an addiction to real money. Playing cards doesn\'t mean one has to gamble or necessarily lead to gambling. In fact, many gamblers don\'t always use cards either.\r\n
Pieces of Eight was my first rock record. Prior to that, I listened to a lot of outlaw country, cuz that's what my dad liked. There was a David Allen Coe song that used to scared me (I was 3 or 4 yrs old), and Queen of Spades was the next song to induce the same fear in me. It was the dramatic power--quite a heavy trip to lay on a toddler! LOL!
Anyway, I used to take it somewhat literally, almost like a stalker, though I had no concept of such things back then. I imagined, quite literally, a guy in some sort of magical desert or something, who just could not get away from this woman he once loved, but who now wanted to kill him.
Metaphorically speaking, that's pretty apt for any kind of dependence, including a gambling addiction. It's less of a literal stalker than a feeling, a thrill, a rush, a high, that you simply refuse to see is killing you, until you're halfway to death and enslaved.
Anyway, I agree--great song, great album, even if I am often a bit biased toward many of my first albums.
@maddpsyintyst IT SHOULD BE CALLED THE KING OF SPADES, WHICH IS TOMMY SHAW LYING ABOUT HIS WIFE CUPPY SMITH!nIT SHOULD BE CALLED THE KING OF SPADES, WHICH IS TOMMY SHAW LYING ABOUT HIS WIFE CUPPY SMITH! \r\nShe got screwed over by this lying snake loser Tommy Shaw! He got the idea from the song and movie “The Gambler” by Kenny Rogers and also the song “Desperado” by The Eagles with the line Queen of Spades. Both Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton the members of the Eagles including Dennis DeYoung and James Young and Lawrence Gawan were involved in slandering Cuppy...
@maddpsyintyst IT SHOULD BE CALLED THE KING OF SPADES, WHICH IS TOMMY SHAW LYING ABOUT HIS WIFE CUPPY SMITH!nIT SHOULD BE CALLED THE KING OF SPADES, WHICH IS TOMMY SHAW LYING ABOUT HIS WIFE CUPPY SMITH! \r\nShe got screwed over by this lying snake loser Tommy Shaw! He got the idea from the song and movie “The Gambler” by Kenny Rogers and also the song “Desperado” by The Eagles with the line Queen of Spades. Both Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton the members of the Eagles including Dennis DeYoung and James Young and Lawrence Gawan were involved in slandering Cuppy Smith! Poor Cuppy Smith never stood a chance! Poor Queen of Spades never stood a chance! Cuppy Smith is the Queen of Spades! Cuppy hated gambling and never worked or went to a casino!\r\n
"The Queen of Spades" refers to Black Tar Heroin.
In the song, he talks about how it makes him feel when he takes it at night, but in the morning the high is gone, and he hits depression; then he tries to escape the addiction, but he's hooked.
Then the song goes on to talk about how there's no way to win if you use it.
"First time is free, from now on pay me" refers to how drug-pushers will give a free sample of addictive drugs, knowing that their victims will be back for more.
JYs solo in this tune is one of his best.
The best song from the Pieces Of Eight album.