Seven Cards

                                   It was Saturday night at the County Fair

                                   As I passed behind the Gypsy’s lair

                                    On my way to watch my favourite band

                                    She dragged me in by the hand

                                                            Seven cards I will deal for you     

                                                            Your future life will reveal how true

                                                            Three cards only can you draw

                                                            You must leave the other four

                                    Sit down young man and listen to me

                                    Old I am but I tell this for free        

                                    If the cards bring you luck or deal you harm                 

                                    I want no silver to cross my palm

                                                            There are seven ways to win in life

                                                            Seven ways it can end in strife

                                                            Whichever three cards that you choose

                                                            The other four you must lose

                                    The light was dim and incense she burned

                                    I knew I should leave but you never do learn

                                    Her hands were crabbed but sparkled with rings

                                    She laughed with her eyes as she told me these things

                                   I will deal them face down so you cannot see

                                    Whatever you do you must choose just three

                                   Draw them towards you but do not look

                                   Before you discover the choices you took

                                   First I must show you the other four cards

                                   I must reveal the lives you discard

                                                There are seven ways you can find a wife

                                                And seven ways to ruin your life

                                                Whichever three that you choose

                                                The other four forever you lose

                                    I paused for a minute, maybe it was three

                                    Then drew the cards down towards me

                                    She smiled again – now it’s too late

                                    These cards my friends will seal your fate

                                    Before I explain what life has in store

                                    I will show to you the other four

                                    The three you chose will later reveal

                                    What has been given and what you must steal

                                                There are seven paths in life you may tread

                                                Some will bring joy, some you may dread

                                                These four cards you did not choose

                                                Now I will show the life you did lose

                                    First we turn over the card of Joy

                                   Your first-born child would have been a boy

                                   The second card shows a single red rose

                                   For you, one love only we must dispose

                                   Card number three is completely clear

                                   All you desired and whatever you feared

                                   Would have been yours, it was really your choice

                                   You would only have had to raise your voice

                                   And the fourth is the Joker as you can see

                                   You could have swapped if it were one of your three

                                   For any of the four you thought you had lost

                                   But in life as you know there is always a cost

                                                There are seven chances for luck in your life

                                                And seven sorrows that cut like a knife  

                                                Whichever three that you choose

                                                The other four you are bound to lose

                                   The candle flickered, the light grew dimmer

                                   She leaned in close and her face became grimmer

                                   Now we discover your fate my friend

                                   Now you will see how your life will end

                                                There are seven roads you can walk in life

                                                Seven paths but none are alike

                                                Which of the three you may have chosen

                                                The other four to you are frozen

                                    The first card I turned showed a bag of gold

                                    You will be rich before you grow old

                                    Card number two was a single shoe

                                    But you will walk with a limp before you do

                                                There are seven ways towards the light

                                                Seven ways to win the good fight

                                                These three cards may help you some day

                                                But the other four may block your way

                                    The last card I turned showed a dagger through a heart

                                    As it slipped from my hand, I gave such a start

                                    What does it mean I asked the old crone

                                    Does it mean I will live and die all alone

                                    Oh you will know love and many many times

                                    But you will kill each one before the bell chimes

                                    Many women will warm your cold life

                                    But none of them will become your wife

                                    Money you will have but it may cause you pain

                                    As you sit in the sun it will start to rain

                                    Every woman that loves you you’ll break their hearts

                                    It is good to know this from the start

                                    Enjoy your fortune while you may

                                    The cards have been dealt, they have had their say

                                                There were seven cards dealt in your life

                                                Some make you happy, some bring you strife

                                                The three you have chosen will each bear a cost

                                                You will never know the lives you have lost

                                     As I stumbled away my life without hope

                                    I pulled open the tent and tripped on a rope

                                    And there right before me in front of my eyes

                                    Was a wallet, my hands closed around the prize

                                    I met a young girl whose beauty stunned me

                                    A week ago I was sure she had shunned me

                                    I paid for her rides and I took her to dinner

                                    I knew then that I would surely win her

                                    But I knew that this girl who became my lover

                                    Was the first of many, there would be others

                                    I teased her and smiled as I laughed in her face

                                    I won more money and put her back in her place

                                                There were seven cards and I chose three

                                                And even though there was a pain in my knee

                                                I had women a plenty and pots of money

                                                I was happy for a while – isn’t life funny