[Spoken Intro] If the game is crooked, the law is bought, and the men at the table already know who’s gonna lose… There ain’t much an honest man can do. But years ago, in a backroom outside El Paso, a gambler named Cullen Cade caught five black-hearted men dealing from the bottom. They took his money. They took his name. Then they shot him through the heart and buried him with an empty holster. They say dead men don’t come back. They say dead men don’t play cards. And everybody knows… Dead men don’t deal. [Beat Drops] [Verse 1] Dust blew hard through the Devil’s Door, Five men laughing on a sawdust floor, Judge at the table, sheriff at the bar, Mayor wore gold and a railroad scar. Cullen sat quiet with a whiskey neat, Watched the dealer slide that bottom cheat, Said, “That deck’s marked, and your hands ain’t clean,” Then the room went still like a bad man’s dream. Sheriff drew first, put a hole through his vest, Judge said, “Bury that trouble out west,” They took Cullen’s boots and his silver chain, Left him six feet down in the desert rain. [Pre-Chorus] But the wind kept calling his name that night, And the graveyard dirt wouldn’t hold him tight, When the church struck twelve and the moon turned red, Bare feet walked where they’d buried the dead. [Chorus] Dead men don’t deal, that’s what they say, Don’t pull up a chair, don’t ask ’em to play, Don’t slide ’em a deck, don’t laugh, don’t steal, There’s a price on the hand when a dead man deals. Dead men don’t beg, dead men don’t kneel, They don’t fear Lead and they don’t feel steel, You can rig every round, but the last one’s real Better leave town fast when the dead man deals. [Verse 2] Same five men in the same back room, Same black smoke, same cheap perfume, Door swung wide, every lantern swayed, In walked Cullen from his desert grave. Coat full of dirt, face bone-white, One red ember where his eye caught light, Sat in his chair, laid a coin on the wood, Said, “Deal me in, boys. You knew that I would.” His first hand lost with a pair of threes, Second hand folded on a crooked queen, Third took his hat, fourth went bad, Fifth took everything the dead man had. They laughed so loud that the windows shook, Mayor said, “Ghost, you ain’t worth the dirt we took,” Cullen just smiled as the whiskey spilled, ’Cause a man already murdered can’t be killed. [Pre-Chorus] Then the dealer pushed the deck his way, Said, “Corpse, your turn - show us how you play,” Cullen looked down, let the silence build, Then spoke four words and the whole room chilled. [Breakdown] Dead Men Don’t Deal!!...... (Dead Men Don’t Deal!!......) (Dead Men Don’t Deal!!......) [Verse 3] He reached beneath that blood stained coat, Pulled an iron with a silver throat, Long black barrel, ivory-white grip, A raven carved where the hammer sits. Called it Mercy- but it never lied, Six cold chambers and the truth inside, He spun that thunder, let judgment speak, Five cards fell in under one heartbeat. Judge hit the floor with an ace in his hand, Sheriff went pale when he tried to stand, Mayor crawled low for the back-room door, Cullen said, “You ain’t the mayor no more.” Railroad king reached as the lamplight scattered, Shots rang out and a whiskey glass shattered, Last man begged, “Cade, take it all.” Cullen pulled the trigger- and Mercy called... [Instrumental] [Chorus] Dead men don’t deal, that’s what they say, But dead men collect when the house won’t pay, Don’t slide ’em a deck, don’t laugh, don’t steal, There’s a price on the hand when a dead man deals. Dead men don’t bluff, dead men don’t squeal, They crawl through the dirt when the debt gets real, You can rig every round, but the last one’s sealed Better pray you’re gone when the dead man deals. [Bridge] He left five cards on the bloodstained green, Four black aces and a dead man’s queen, Took back his hat, pulled on his boots, Struck one match and watched the flames take root. [Outro] Now every crooked house from there to San Antone Keeps one chair empty and one rule carved in stone- [Half-spoken] Never mock the grave. Never stack the deck. And never hand the cards... ...to a dead man...
