The cards just weren’t hitting last night. Sometimes when my luck (or, let’s face it, my gambling acumen) isn’t quite where I’d like it to be, I wish I could gamble like Big Jule from Guys & Dolls – who threw craps with his own special dice. The spots were all worn off, but Jule would insist he remembered which side was which. In the musical, Big Jule loses the big bet to Sky Masterson nonetheless after Sky sings “Luck Be a Lady Tonight.” Written for the musical by Frank Loesser, the song was further popularized by the Chairman of the Board. (Indeed, I know many folks who have no idea the song is a showtune.) Barry Manilow and Barbara Steisand, among others, also covered the tune, but I don’t recommend their versions. In any event, in honor of last night’s poker game — when luck was anything but a lady for me — here are Frank Loesser’s lyrics to what may be the most memorable gambling song in history:
They call you lady luck
But there is room for doubt
At times you have a very un-lady-like way
Of running out
Your on this date with me
The pickin’s have been lush
And yet before the evening is over
You might give me the brush
You might forget your manners
You might refuse to stay
And so the best that I can do is pray
Luck be lady tonight
Luck be lady tonight
Luck if you’ve been a lady to begin with
Luck be a lady tonight
Luck let a gentleman see
Just how nice a dame you can be
I know the way you’ve treated other guys you’ve been with
Luck be a lady with me
A lady never leaves her escort
It isn’t fair, it isn’t nice
A lady doesn’t wander all over the room
And blow on some other guys dice
Lets keep this party polite
Never get out of my sight
Stick with me baby, I’m the guy that you came in with
Luck be lady tonight
A lady never flirts with strangers
She’d have a heart, she’d be nice
A lady doesn’t wander all over the room
And blow on some other guys dice
Lets keep this party polite
Never get out of my sight
Stick with me baby, I’m the guy that you came in with
Luck be lady tonight
Update:A reader e-mails a slight correction:
Big Jule’s dice were spotless not because the spots had worn off but because Big Jule specifically had them removed — “for good luck,” he explained to the understandably skeptical Nathan Detroit. Today, we would call this “faith-based craps.”
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