Best Songs About Gambling

 

Townes van Zandt – St John The Gambler

Something soft to ease you into this playlist. This isn’t even the best gambling song by Townes van Zandt – more from the poker-loving Texan wordsmith later – but it’s a lyrical masterpiece in its own right. If you want something a bit more upbeat, perhaps skip to the next track, but come back to St John The Gambler when you’re in a more mellow mood.

Ace of Spades – Hayseed Dixie

Hear me out, I know this is a Motörhead song. We all know that and we all know the original, so overused that it even once appeared in an episode of British soap opera Emmerdale. Great song, but played out. So instead check out the best cover version of this classic gambling tune – Hayseed Dixie’s bluegrass-style effort.

The Galway Races – The Dubliners

This one is more about horse raising than it is about betting, but with the two topics so intertwined I figured I might get away with it on this list. Any gambler who’s been to the races can resonate with betting on ‘the sporting wheel of fortune’ and ‘without scruple’ – i.e with a clean conscience. Fine lyrics you’ll likely have heard in your nearest Irish bar.

The Angel and the Gambler – Iron Maiden

This song divides Maiden fans like no other, possibly because the repetitive lyrics can prove tiresome. But the riff and general basis of the song is very catchy and uplifting, not unlike The Who in some parts. Word of warning though, this release came in 1998 when Blaze Bayley was fronting the band, so no high-pitch vocals from Bruce Dickinson.

Casino Boogie – Rolling Stones

What worth has any rock playlist without the Stones? Although lyrically this song contains no obvious references to gambling, it is a fact that Mick Jagger and co regularly frequented the casinos in Monte Carlo during the recording of the album on which this appears, the classic Exile On Main St. The lyrics are mostly baffling, but their casino experiences must have had some influence, among other things.

Deal – Jerry Garcia

This is Jerry Garcia at his very best outside of Grateful Dead. Any bettor who has a history of frequenting land-based gambling dens will relate to lines like ‘I been gamblin' hereabouts for ten good solid years, if I told you all that went down it would burn off both of your ears’. One for the purists.

Atlantic City – Bruce Springsteen

You have to read between the lines a little to see this as a gambling song, but the undertones are there. Atlantic City is, of course, one of the world’s greatest gambling havens. ‘There's winners and there's losers, and I am south of the line’ writes The Boss. It’s mainly about a working-class man down on his luck, edging towards organised crime to make ends meet. If that isn’t a gamble, I don’t know what is.

The Gambler – Kenny Rogers

To be honest, I wasn’t even going to include this track on the list because – much like Motörhead’s Ace of Spades – it’s played out and a bit too obvious. 

Viva Las Vegas – Elvis

Never will a song ever capture the glamour and glitz of Las Vegas more so than this classic from Elvis Presley. Not quite as played out as Ace of Spades or The Gambler, but if you’ve heard enough of the original, listen to the punk version by Dead Kennedys or if you want more Springsteen, check out his take on Viva Las Vegas.

Go Down Gamblin’ - Blood Sweat and Tears

Could tuba solos have been considered rock n’ roll before Blood, Sweat & Tears came along? I doubt it! Their brilliant fusion of jazz, ‘70s rock and blues arguably peaked with Go Down Gamblin’. After being ‘raised on brew and poker and a dollar here and there’ this song is about having an all-or-nothing mentality towards gambling.

Rambling, Gambling Willie – Bob Dylan

The first of two Bob Dylan songs to make our top 10. Rambling, Gambling Willie was a risk-taking betting man who roamed from town to town across America, fathering children and winning everything on the table. Ultimately, he pushed his luck too far, as you’ll hear in the last verse. As eloquently written as any of Dylan’s best, this one comes with a very clear message to all gamblers – quit while you’re ahead.

 

1. 1. When you search Google for the best songs about gambling, the top results can be somewhat misleading.

       

      Lady Gaga’s ‘Poker Face’ is not the best gambling song ever written and Katy Perry’s ‘Waking up in Vegas’ is not even about gambling.