Ace of Spades

If you like to gamble, I tell you I'm your man,
You win some, lose some, it's all the same to me,
The pleasure is to play, makes no difference what you say,
I don't share your greed, the only card I need is
The Ace of Spades

Playing for the high one, dancing with the devil,
Going with the flow, it's all the game to me,
Seven or eleven, snake eyes watching you,
Double up or quit, double stake or split,
The Ace of Spades

You know I'm born to lose, and gambling's for fools,
But that's the way I like it baby,
I don't wanna live for ever,
And don't forget the joker!

Pushing up the ante, I know you wanna see me,
Read 'em and weep, the dead man's hand again,
I see it in your eyes, take one look and die,
The only thing you see, you know it's gonna be,
The Ace of Spades

- Motorhead (1976)

Motorhead has been around for a looong time. After being fired from the band Hawkwind, Lemmy Kilmister founded the band Motorhead (after originally wanting to call the new band Bastard). Motorhead quickly earned a cult following in England and helped launch what is now known as the New Wave of British Heavy Metal in the late 1970's and early 1980's. Motorhead's contemporaries at the time were bands such as Def Leppard, Judas Priest, and Iron Maiden. The band is still making music to this day, with Lemmy as the sole original member. Lemmy, even pushing 64, is still very active in the heavy metal culture. His most recent project was as the voice of "The Killmaster" in the new hit video game Brutal Legend. This song is from their 1976 album of the same name.

Lyrically this song is all about gambling in the Las Vegas style. We're presented with terminology from different games such as poker and craps. But there is more under the surface of the lyrics. Here he pretty much says that he's not in the game to win but rather it's the thrill of the game that keeps him going. For a lot of people in life this holds true. There are those professions that don't earn very much money, but people do them because they love what they do. Of course, it all depends on your definition of winning... for some it's the money and for others it's the satisfaction of a job well done. All he needs is the Ace of Spades, which is probably the metaphor for winning.

The same could also be said of life in general. Let's face it - every second we live is a gamble. We don't know what could happen from one moment to the next (that's why he reminds us not to forget about the Joker). As we've seen in other songs in the past, it's not the result, but the thrill of the game that should keep us going. If we're lucky enough to draw the Ace of Spades, then so be it, but that should never be the all consuming goal.

Musically, this song is loud, heavy, and fast, which pretty much sums up the way Lemmy lived in the 1970's and 1980's (he said he was fired from Hawkwind for doing the wrong drugs). The music is what made it a good party song back in the day, but it does tie closely to the underlying theme of the song. Life is fast and hard and it's the thrill of the game that keeps us all in it.

Any thoughts, Mardi?