such an amazing song...such in depth songwriting that is both exact with its description yet vague enough to allow each individual listener to create their own imagery...

perfect reason why this band is so far above everyone else...IMO of course

Re: Jack Translation

OK, so I was listening to the weekly MP3 of Jack and for an
unknown reason it occurred to me what that song was about. All of these years, I guess I had never given it any thought. If you already know, then disregard this.

Its about a card game. Actually a Straight Flush.

"Jack was really a jester who held his one good eye on the queen"

This means that One Eyed Jacks are wild and that the card holder also has a Queen.

"And there sat the king beside her. He's pointing his sword up and down with every scene"

Obviously he has the King of the suit. But this also tells you
what suit is held. There are only two one Eyed Jacks. Spades and Hearts. The King of Hearts is a Suicide King meaning that his sword is horizontal, so it means that the holder has a Jack, Queen, and King of Spades.

"And the wizard's in the corner, catching peanuts between his teeth"

The Corners of a straight are your high and low cards. Now, I
have never heard of an Ace being referred to as a Wizard, so I am guessing that Jokers are also wild and that the holder has a Joker to represent his Ace. I will get back to that in a second.

"And the dogs lying in the shadow in the archway. There's one good dog sleeping filled with good ole' dog dreams"

Your Dog is your low card in a straight. In this case it is a two
of Spades. I will come back to this.

"He slipped next to the wizard, whispered something deep, to the bottom of his ear. A little joke, the one about the farmer's daughter. How she was stomping on grapes, coming up with blue feet and beer. And he slipped behind the queen"

Whats important here is that the holder rearranged his cards. He moves his Jack behind his wizard. In any Poker game, it is important to rearrange your cards even if it is an old trick. Or an old Joke, maybe about a farmers daughter. Then he slips the Jack right back behind the queen where it started.

"Where the fools go the rich don't mind"

Wild cards can go anywhere.

"Lately the king's (k)nights have turned a little rusty, and his halo - I mean his crown - has gone and slipped around his
eyes"

He is going to have to go from a Royal Flush to a lesser flush. I will demonstrate that.

"The wizard's in the corner, pulling lizards between his knees. And the dog hesbeen long gone, gone to pitch for the winning team"

The Wizard, or Joker had been the corner or high card in the
hand. Now he pulls the Lizard (Two) to the top card corner. By doing this the two is no longer a Dog and it completes the straight and wins the game.

"Fifty-two, I mean fifty-four bicycles on the wall, ready to ride, ready to ride until the last of them falls. Jack's been cooking in the kitchen, whompin' up some biscuits for us all. For us all. For us all. Ready to ride, ready to ride, ride"

52 Bicycle playing cards in a standard game. 54 when playing with Jokers. The One Eyed Jack was really the pivotal card in this game and "cooked" up a win. His hand was Jack, Queen, King, Joker, Deuce. Spades.

thanks very much- that's what I was looking for.

Yea, great song. One of my favorite Panic songs.

It has a double meaning; 1 about a card game, 2 about a young guy gettin in on the older lady while the old man ain't looking