"Royal Flush Blues"

(Key of E – Slow 12-bar shuffle)

[Verse 1]
Well, the crown man came from over the sea,
Sayin’ “Boy, that name on paper? Yeah, that belongs to me.”
Put my mark on a page, thought it set me free,
But I been chained in the game since the colony.

[Verse 2]
They got the Pope in the palace, wearin’ robes of gold,
Blessin’ the bankers, while my freedom’s sold.
Fee simple on my soul, Lord, the deal was cold,
Ain’t nothin’ simple when the devil’s got hold.

[Chorus]
Royal flush blues, house of Windsor in the deal,
They stack the deck, and I’m the fool they steal.
They call it poker, but I ain’t got no hand,
They got my name, my sweat, and my land.

[Verse 3]
Signed me a surname, said it made me a man,
But it’s just a shackle in a banker’s plan.
Workin’ all my life for a debt I never planned,
While the royals sip wine on stolen land.

[Verse 4]
They herd us in cities, stacked high in the pen,
Flushing poison in the water, drink it all again.
Said, “Don’t you worry, that’s the life of men,”
But the well’s run dry where the truth’s been.

[Chorus]
Royal flush blues, house of Windsor in the deal,
They stack the deck, and I’m the fool they steal.
They call it poker, but I ain’t got no hand,
They got my name, my sweat, and my land.

[Bridge – Spoken over guitar vamp]
They laugh from the palace, countin’ up my years,
While the Pope whispers blessings in the bankers’ ears.
And the crown don’t need whips, don’t need chains,
When your mind’s in a prison, your blood in their veins.

[Verse 5]
So I’m layin’ down my cards, I won’t play no more,
I’m walkin’ from the table, right out that door.
Name ain’t mine? Well, you can keep your score,
I’m a free-born soul and I ain’t yours no more.

[Final Chorus]
Royal flush blues, you can keep your crooked deal,
I see your trick, and I know what’s real.
You played your hand, but I’m breakin’ that band,
’Cause my name, my soul, and my land ain’t in your hand.