Greatest Stories Ever Told - "Loser"

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October 2, 2014
https://www.dead.net/features/greatest-stories-ever-told/greatest-stories-ever-told-loser

Greatest Stories Ever Told - "Loser"

By David Dodd

Here’s the plan—each week, I will blog about a different song, focusing, usually, on the lyrics, but also on some other aspects of the song, including its overall impact—a truly subjective thing. Therefore, the best part, I would hope, would not be anything in particular that I might have to say, but rather, the conversation that may happen via the comments over the course of time—and since all the posts will stay up, you can feel free to weigh in any time on any of the songs! With Grateful Dead lyrics, there’s always a new and different take on what they bring up for each listener, it seems. (I’ll consider requests for particular songs—just private message me!)

"Loser"

I am grateful to have received, recently, a somewhat indignant email from a reader of this column, taking me to task for having “overlooked” “Loser.”

It’s true — I haven’t yet written about the song. But I would point out that there are dozens of songs which have yet to be the topic of a “Greatest Stories Ever Told” post, and that I have taken anything but a disciplined approach to the material.

Early on, I tried to follow the rough patterning of a show, in which Jerry tunes would alternate with Bobby’s or other composers’ tunes, and until recently, that seemed to work. However, I am now finding myself running short of songs to rotate in between Garcia selections. Increasingly, there will be multiple Garcia songs end-to-end.

And “Loser” is certainly one of the very best of the greatest stories told in a Hunter lyric.

In it, we encounter the Loser of the title, who is the song’s narrator and protagonist. Or, antagonist, maybe.

I’ve always thought a hallmark of Hunter’s lyrics was that we can, through them, come to see the world from a point of view other than our own—whether we are taught to empathize with losers or criminals or con men or poets.

The tone of this song is set very strongly with the opening line, the arresting: “If I had a gun for every ace I’ve drawn, I could arm a town the size of Abilene.” Somewhat akin to that eternal parental trope of “If I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard you say….” But much edgier, and, somehow, threatening. This is a man with violence on his mind.

And yet, he appeals to the listener’s love for him: “Put your gold money where your love is, baby.” And his method of trying to convince this person who loves him? Sheer con artistry. Even as he dismisses the braggarts in the game, he himself indulges grandiosely in the same behavior.

Somehow I find this particular character one of the most difficult in Hunter’s lyrics to sympathize or empathize with. Understand, maybe. Pity, maybe. But he’s no August West. Or Candyman. Or Jack Straw. In fact, he doesn’t have a name. Could that be some kind of clue? “Loser” is his designation and his name. It’s who and what he is.

So, what are the characteristics of a loser? He’s a hypocrite—bragging (“I can tell the queen of diamonds by the way she shines”) while putting down everybody who’s “bragging and drinking that wine.” He sees his lover as simply a source of funds. He is a whiner (“moanin’ low…”). All in all, there is very little to recommend this guy.

The song seems covered in the Americana dust of so many songs from this period of Hunter’s and Garcia’s songwriting partnership. Abilene, whether in Texas or Kansas, is a dusty cowtown—at the time in which the song seems to be set, the cattle outnumbered the human inhabitants by a factor of tens. It’s easy to see the scene Hunter so casually sets, of a broken-down gambler in a saloon, with a dirt street outside full of armed cowpokes.

Appearing, as it does, on Garcia, the song seems to pair naturally with the other gambling song on the album, “Deal.” It could be sung by the same character on a different day, in fact. And it fits in, as I mentioned, with a whole suite of songs that might be set in the same generic America of the late 19th or early 20th centuries: “Brown-Eyed Women,” “Jack Straw,” “Mister Charlie,” “Tennessee Jed,” “Cumberland Blues,” “Candyman,” and others, as well as certain selected covers, such as “Me and My Uncle,” and “El Paso.”

Those songs share certain motifs, and among them are the various accoutrements of a gambler’s trade, whether dice or cards. Money plays a role—and, in the case of “Loser,” the particular money mentioned helps place the song chronologically. Gold dollar coins were minted from 1849 (the Gold Rush!) to 1889. They were tiny little coins. I have one, and it is amazingly small—between 13 and 15 mm in diameter. “All that I am asking for is ten gold dollars…” C’mon! They’re tiny little things. In fact, originally, the line was “one gold dollar,” but that changed at some point to the “ten” we usually heard.

The crowning glory of the song, as in many other Garcia/Hunter compositions, is the bridge.

The song culminates in this cry of hopefulness: “Last fair deal in the country, Sweet Susie, last fair deal in the town. Put your gold money where your love is, baby, before you let my deal go down—go down.”

(It’s noted that “Sweet Susie” was dropped at some point, but then, occasionally, brought back. I think it was an optional decoration to the line. Alex Allan, in his Grateful Dead Lyric and Song Finder site, notes that “Sweet Susie” rarely appears after 1972, but that it’s sung in performances in 1974 and 1979.)

I believe Hunter, with Garcia’s help, created a sweeping panorama of the underside of America, which stretches through these songs and into their selection, as a band, of cover songs. It’s the “old, weird America”—the America of the Basement Tapes, of the Anthology of American Folk Music assembled by Harry Smith. The songs seem out of time—timeless—standing as testimony to collective memory that includes the stuff that’s harder to look at. We come from those places, too. And those places, those people, are all around us still.

Someday, I would love to see an album put together of all the songs from this period, perhaps performed by one of the new Americana bands that are so wonderfully preserving the sounds of our past. Maybe the Carolina Chocolate Drops. Or maybe several bands. I think it would be a wonderful portrait of a certain aspect of our country. And I think the album could be titled: Loser.

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Greatest Stories Ever Told - "Loser"

By David Dodd

Here’s the plan—each week, I will blog about a different song, focusing, usually, on the lyrics, but also on some other aspects of the song, including its overall impact—a truly subjective thing. Therefore, the best part, I would hope, would not be anything in particular that I might have to say, but rather, the conversation that may happen via the comments over the course of time—and since all the posts will stay up, you can feel free to weigh in any time on any of the songs! With Grateful Dead lyrics, there’s always a new and different take on what they bring up for each listener, it seems. (I’ll consider requests for particular songs—just private message me!)

"Loser"

I am grateful to have received, recently, a somewhat indignant email from a reader of this column, taking me to task for having “overlooked” “Loser.”

It’s true — I haven’t yet written about the song. But I would point out that there are dozens of songs which have yet to be the topic of a “Greatest Stories Ever Told” post, and that I have taken anything but a disciplined approach to the material.

Early on, I tried to follow the rough patterning of a show, in which Jerry tunes would alternate with Bobby’s or other composers’ tunes, and until recently, that seemed to work. However, I am now finding myself running short of songs to rotate in between Garcia selections. Increasingly, there will be multiple Garcia songs end-to-end.

And “Loser” is certainly one of the very best of the greatest stories told in a Hunter lyric.

In it, we encounter the Loser of the title, who is the song’s narrator and protagonist. Or, antagonist, maybe.

I’ve always thought a hallmark of Hunter’s lyrics was that we can, through them, come to see the world from a point of view other than our own—whether we are taught to empathize with losers or criminals or con men or poets.

The tone of this song is set very strongly with the opening line, the arresting: “If I had a gun for every ace I’ve drawn, I could arm a town the size of Abilene.” Somewhat akin to that eternal parental trope of “If I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard you say….” But much edgier, and, somehow, threatening. This is a man with violence on his mind.

And yet, he appeals to the listener’s love for him: “Put your gold money where your love is, baby.” And his method of trying to convince this person who loves him? Sheer con artistry. Even as he dismisses the braggarts in the game, he himself indulges grandiosely in the same behavior.

Somehow I find this particular character one of the most difficult in Hunter’s lyrics to sympathize or empathize with. Understand, maybe. Pity, maybe. But he’s no August West. Or Candyman. Or Jack Straw. In fact, he doesn’t have a name. Could that be some kind of clue? “Loser” is his designation and his name. It’s who and what he is.

So, what are the characteristics of a loser? He’s a hypocrite—bragging (“I can tell the queen of diamonds by the way she shines”) while putting down everybody who’s “bragging and drinking that wine.” He sees his lover as simply a source of funds. He is a whiner (“moanin’ low…”). All in all, there is very little to recommend this guy.

The song seems covered in the Americana dust of so many songs from this period of Hunter’s and Garcia’s songwriting partnership. Abilene, whether in Texas or Kansas, is a dusty cowtown—at the time in which the song seems to be set, the cattle outnumbered the human inhabitants by a factor of tens. It’s easy to see the scene Hunter so casually sets, of a broken-down gambler in a saloon, with a dirt street outside full of armed cowpokes.

Appearing, as it does, on Garcia, the song seems to pair naturally with the other gambling song on the album, “Deal.” It could be sung by the same character on a different day, in fact. And it fits in, as I mentioned, with a whole suite of songs that might be set in the same generic America of the late 19th or early 20th centuries: “Brown-Eyed Women,” “Jack Straw,” “Mister Charlie,” “Tennessee Jed,” “Cumberland Blues,” “Candyman,” and others, as well as certain selected covers, such as “Me and My Uncle,” and “El Paso.”

Those songs share certain motifs, and among them are the various accoutrements of a gambler’s trade, whether dice or cards. Money plays a role—and, in the case of “Loser,” the particular money mentioned helps place the song chronologically. Gold dollar coins were minted from 1849 (the Gold Rush!) to 1889. They were tiny little coins. I have one, and it is amazingly small—between 13 and 15 mm in diameter. “All that I am asking for is ten gold dollars…” C’mon! They’re tiny little things. In fact, originally, the line was “one gold dollar,” but that changed at some point to the “ten” we usually heard.

The crowning glory of the song, as in many other Garcia/Hunter compositions, is the bridge.

The song culminates in this cry of hopefulness: “Last fair deal in the country, Sweet Susie, last fair deal in the town. Put your gold money where your love is, baby, before you let my deal go down—go down.”

(It’s noted that “Sweet Susie” was dropped at some point, but then, occasionally, brought back. I think it was an optional decoration to the line. Alex Allan, in his Grateful Dead Lyric and Song Finder site, notes that “Sweet Susie” rarely appears after 1972, but that it’s sung in performances in 1974 and 1979.)

I believe Hunter, with Garcia’s help, created a sweeping panorama of the underside of America, which stretches through these songs and into their selection, as a band, of cover songs. It’s the “old, weird America”—the America of the Basement Tapes, of the Anthology of American Folk Music assembled by Harry Smith. The songs seem out of time—timeless—standing as testimony to collective memory that includes the stuff that’s harder to look at. We come from those places, too. And those places, those people, are all around us still.

Someday, I would love to see an album put together of all the songs from this period, perhaps performed by one of the new Americana bands that are so wonderfully preserving the sounds of our past. Maybe the Carolina Chocolate Drops. Or maybe several bands. I think it would be a wonderful portrait of a certain aspect of our country. And I think the album could be titled: Loser.

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Deadicated

10 years 1 month ago

Jerry's solo was always so wicked!
After the third "well, I got no chance of losin' this time", you could hear him turning up and add an effect, and then rip that first note, often as a harmonic, and then just agony, agony, agony. I find the 9/03/77 solo to be particularly earth-shattering. Not many minor key ballads sung by our hero.
marye

10 years 1 month ago

I've always been especially fond
of the first two lines. Absolutely classic Hunter in condensing entire epics to two lines. Also, I just hope Hunter has gotten at least as big a kick as I have over the years from "I could arm a town the size of Abilene." What a phrase. What a visual.
Gr8fulTed

10 years 1 month ago

Sweet Susie
Jerry was having some vocal hoarseness, but he did mention Susie during the performance of Loser in Uniondale, NY on 1/10/79

By David Dodd

Here’s the plan—each week, I will blog about a different song, focusing, usually, on the lyrics, but also on some other aspects of the song, including its overall impact—a truly subjective thing. Therefore, the best part, I would hope, would not be anything in particular that I might have to say, but rather, the conversation that may happen via the comments over the course of time—and since all the posts will stay up, you can feel free to weigh in any time on any of the songs! With Grateful Dead lyrics, there’s always a new and different take on what they bring up for each listener, it seems. (I’ll consider requests for particular songs—just private message me!)

"Loser"

I am grateful to have received, recently, a somewhat indignant email from a reader of this column, taking me to task for having “overlooked” “Loser.”

It’s true — I haven’t yet written about the song. But I would point out that there are dozens of songs which have yet to be the topic of a “Greatest Stories Ever Told” post, and that I have taken anything but a disciplined approach to the material.

Early on, I tried to follow the rough patterning of a show, in which Jerry tunes would alternate with Bobby’s or other composers’ tunes, and until recently, that seemed to work. However, I am now finding myself running short of songs to rotate in between Garcia selections. Increasingly, there will be multiple Garcia songs end-to-end.

And “Loser” is certainly one of the very best of the greatest stories told in a Hunter lyric.

In it, we encounter the Loser of the title, who is the song’s narrator and protagonist. Or, antagonist, maybe.

I’ve always thought a hallmark of Hunter’s lyrics was that we can, through them, come to see the world from a point of view other than our own—whether we are taught to empathize with losers or criminals or con men or poets.

The tone of this song is set very strongly with the opening line, the arresting: “If I had a gun for every ace I’ve drawn, I could arm a town the size of Abilene.” Somewhat akin to that eternal parental trope of “If I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard you say….” But much edgier, and, somehow, threatening. This is a man with violence on his mind.

And yet, he appeals to the listener’s love for him: “Put your gold money where your love is, baby.” And his method of trying to convince this person who loves him? Sheer con artistry. Even as he dismisses the braggarts in the game, he himself indulges grandiosely in the same behavior.

Somehow I find this particular character one of the most difficult in Hunter’s lyrics to sympathize or empathize with. Understand, maybe. Pity, maybe. But he’s no August West. Or Candyman. Or Jack Straw. In fact, he doesn’t have a name. Could that be some kind of clue? “Loser” is his designation and his name. It’s who and what he is.

So, what are the characteristics of a loser? He’s a hypocrite—bragging (“I can tell the queen of diamonds by the way she shines”) while putting down everybody who’s “bragging and drinking that wine.” He sees his lover as simply a source of funds. He is a whiner (“moanin’ low…”). All in all, there is very little to recommend this guy.

The song seems covered in the Americana dust of so many songs from this period of Hunter’s and Garcia’s songwriting partnership. Abilene, whether in Texas or Kansas, is a dusty cowtown—at the time in which the song seems to be set, the cattle outnumbered the human inhabitants by a factor of tens. It’s easy to see the scene Hunter so casually sets, of a broken-down gambler in a saloon, with a dirt street outside full of armed cowpokes.

Appearing, as it does, on Garcia, the song seems to pair naturally with the other gambling song on the album, “Deal.” It could be sung by the same character on a different day, in fact. And it fits in, as I mentioned, with a whole suite of songs that might be set in the same generic America of the late 19th or early 20th centuries: “Brown-Eyed Women,” “Jack Straw,” “Mister Charlie,” “Tennessee Jed,” “Cumberland Blues,” “Candyman,” and others, as well as certain selected covers, such as “Me and My Uncle,” and “El Paso.”

Those songs share certain motifs, and among them are the various accoutrements of a gambler’s trade, whether dice or cards. Money plays a role—and, in the case of “Loser,” the particular money mentioned helps place the song chronologically. Gold dollar coins were minted from 1849 (the Gold Rush!) to 1889. They were tiny little coins. I have one, and it is amazingly small—between 13 and 15 mm in diameter. “All that I am asking for is ten gold dollars…” C’mon! They’re tiny little things. In fact, originally, the line was “one gold dollar,” but that changed at some point to the “ten” we usually heard.

The crowning glory of the song, as in many other Garcia/Hunter compositions, is the bridge.

The song culminates in this cry of hopefulness: “Last fair deal in the country, Sweet Susie, last fair deal in the town. Put your gold money where your love is, baby, before you let my deal go down—go down.”

(It’s noted that “Sweet Susie” was dropped at some point, but then, occasionally, brought back. I think it was an optional decoration to the line. Alex Allan, in his Grateful Dead Lyric and Song Finder site, notes that “Sweet Susie” rarely appears after 1972, but that it’s sung in performances in 1974 and 1979.)

I believe Hunter, with Garcia’s help, created a sweeping panorama of the underside of America, which stretches through these songs and into their selection, as a band, of cover songs. It’s the “old, weird America”—the America of the Basement Tapes, of the Anthology of American Folk Music assembled by Harry Smith. The songs seem out of time—timeless—standing as testimony to collective memory that includes the stuff that’s harder to look at. We come from those places, too. And those places, those people, are all around us still.

Someday, I would love to see an album put together of all the songs from this period, perhaps performed by one of the new Americana bands that are so wonderfully preserving the sounds of our past. Maybe the Carolina Chocolate Drops. Or maybe several bands. I think it would be a wonderful portrait of a certain aspect of our country. And I think the album could be titled: Loser.

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No Chance Of Losing

Way back when I was in college, I took a course called Tragedy, that really informed my critical sensibility. The central question was why people throughout the period we studied enjoyed tragic works of art so much, something we music lovers see most often in "the blues." Possible answers are that a) we enjoy hearing about someone who's worse off than we are, this makes us feel better by comparison, and b) that we're able to see hope and/or a chance for redemption in situations seen as hopeless by the antagonists, and this helps us reconsider bad situations in our lives. A perhaps related question is why artists often set things in the past, or in a "simpler" milieu when they're really trying to talk about the present day. A good answer to this is that they're trying to make the point that things haven't changed much over the years. Loser slots right into both of these themes. It's sometimes strange for me to read about the "characters" in Hunter's lyrics, since to me they aren't characters so much as archetypes. This "loser" who lived in another time, in another place, is really all of us. He's thinking that a little money, a little faith, is what he really needs to get over this hump he's looking at. He scolds people for braggadocio and vice when he's guilty of the same. And most of all, when it gets to the end, he's got faith in himself, that the inside straight has gotta turn up for him sometime and it might as well be now. So this great song is a step beyond "tragedy." We're not just looking at some poor cuss who's got it bad, we're looking in the mirror. And when it gets right down to it, the situation isn't hopeless; the truth is that I got no chance of losing this time (though this line is properly sung as a blues wail)! This is an ultimate example of a blues song that uplifts us. Do yourself a favor and listen to Dave Alvin's cover of Loser on his West Of the West record, his tribute to the best California song writers.

another good one, DD

Not much I feel I can add to your great post, David. Just a small observance, that Bobby sang this for a bit with Furthur, but on 11/11/11 in Syracuse he botched the words so badly that in subsequent performances Kadlecik would sing it. Not sure that's a direct cause-and-effect correlation, but at the time I could just picture Hunter pulling his hair out listening to Bobby falter through it; still a very well played performance, and we all love Bobby for his mistakes!

Put your gold money where your love is...

I always thought (and still do) this song was about Pigpen. Also, I completely agree with jbxpro about feeling better by comparison especially if it could be assumed as fictional. Also, thanks for pointing out Dave Alvins cover. Great stuff. Another good cover is from an album that I feel is somewhat on the same level as DD's proposed "Loser" album. Which is Emory Joseph's album Fennario: Songs by Jerry Garcia & Robert Hunter.

Kerosene Hat

I was pleasantly surprised to find Loser among the songs on this Cracker album. Funny thing is, I "won" it on my first quarter playing the spinning wheel at the Jersey shore back in 1993. They did a great job evoking a kind of tripped out western, desert, peyote feel from it. Another keeper.

crown jewels

One of the Grateful Dead's most perfect songs. And one I truly feel just got richer with age.

Chants of Losin

I always thought they were singin, "I got no chants of losin this time". In another times forgotten space (perhaps trying to tune in too much), I took it as those around me chanting, chanting, chanting "LOSER". So hey, no chanting, I must not be pissing too many off. In the same way I thought Jerry was telling me to turn around and tend a sea...I like the post coma/pre Vince Losers the best.Chord wise the verses are pretty easy- A minor,G,C,D,C,E minor. Indeed the bridge is tricky. That took me a lot of practice on guitar, but super rewarding.Actually an excellent composition. One of my very favorites to play. Can anyone tell me what show in 79 "sweet susie" was sung? Maybe that can be a November song to guess. I thought I was "deader than thou" knowing the "sweet susie" version. Kind of like in I Know You Rider, knowing the "I'd rather drink muddy water" verse.

Sweet Susie

Jerry was having some vocal hoarseness, but he did mention Susie during the performance of Loser in Uniondale, NY on 1/10/79

I've always been especially fond

of the first two lines. Absolutely classic Hunter in condensing entire epics to two lines. Also, I just hope Hunter has gotten at least as big a kick as I have over the years from "I could arm a town the size of Abilene." What a phrase. What a visual.

Jerry's solo was always so wicked!

After the third "well, I got no chance of losin' this time", you could hear him turning up and add an effect, and then rip that first note, often as a harmonic, and then just agony, agony, agony. I find the 9/03/77 solo to be particularly earth-shattering. Not many minor key ballads sung by our hero.

Robert Johnson

I'm always reminded of Robert Johnson's Last Fair Deal Gone Down. "If you cry 'bout a nickel, you die 'bout a dime, She wouldn't cry, but the money weren't mine."

I'm only in it for the gold

I see Deal and Loser as bookends of the same story in which we go from tales that will burn off both of our ears, to a gambler begging for money to get back in the game. Our con man in Loser has fallen for his own con where he now believes he can pull the Queen of Diamonds and fill an inside straight. When he tells us “You know I'am only in it for the gold.” Is it a moment of truth from the con man, or the addict's lie: You know I'am only in it for the gold, I only drink socially, I can quit any time? What do we have: A con man, a loser, an addict? Is this a cautionary tale about the road to ruin, or just another character residing in the shadows? This is the beauty and frustration with Hunter's lyrics. You start peeling back the onion until you get to the point where you are no longer sure which onion it is that you are peeling, Hunter's or your own.

where your luck is baby

I am shocked, shocked to learn that the line is "where your love is baby"! I've always heard it as "where your luck is baby". Not sure how I've missed that about 10,000 times! Can't rewrite lyrics obviously, but I feel "luck" fits there at least as well as "love" does. Really, what's love got to do with it!? I don't see the same sort of cheesy whiner that Dr Dodd sees, nor a pathetic addict. I see more of a steely hard-nosed professional, alone out on the mean streets, quietly and stoically doing whatever it takes to make a buck (just cold coffee, gonna get up and go). And about "I can tell the queen of diamonds by the way she shines". Am I the only one to interpret that as a private confession that the character truly *does* see the queen because he knows that card is marked (thus, she "shines")? That would make him an outright cheater, unless the mark is a result of a lucky accident, but either way it fits perfectly with his assertion that "I've got no chance of losin' this time". In many kinds of poker games it is possible to know you are a sure winner if, for example, you're aware of what the next card to be dealt will be (come to daddy). I feel he is happy and relieved that he knows he will at least win this hand-- his only lament is that he doesn't have more gold dollars to wager on a sure thing (I could pay you back with one good hand). A solid, timeless, masterful song. Certainly it will appear as part of many more Americana collections in years to come.

I see the character as being

I see the character as being in denial as he is chanting this phrase. After all, he is the perpetual loser. Even trying to win on an inside straight where the odds of winning are unusually high. I Got No Chance Of Losin' This Time...yeah right!

High Plains- Twilight Zone

There was a Twilight Zone with a chronic gambler. The silver dollars start talking to him in his hotel room then the one armed bandit comes through the door to strike the final blow. Love is a gamble as is life in general. The Grateful Dead were willing to take risks at times. Sometimes it payed off. Money aside it was part of the evolution of music and creating something new and at times profound with far reaching influence. (2014) I love the first Garcia solo album. Real interesting how a previous post described Deal and Loser as bookends. Beautiful concept. It's similar to the person who described Bird Song as the little brother to Dark Star. The spring of 1971 was a fantastic creative time for the band. Garcia's lead on Loser could penetrate to the soul. The Capitol Theater run was amazing. He played the Gibson SG the 18th and the rest of the run his Alembic prototype. By summer he was playing a Les Paul. I've been listening to solo album "Garcia" quite a lot lately. It stands the test of time. That Jerry played all instruments except drums is way interesting. Loser has much going on from acoustic to organ to an almost horn sound for a couple seconds at the crescendo. The organ sound during the third verse gives that high plains lonesome sound. Was recently visiting southwest Oklahoma for a few days somewhere between Abilene, Kansas and Abilene, Texas. Driving back home to western New Mexico I drove all two lane highways the length of the OK panhandle into northeast NM. Real lonely barren country, much like the spirit of the song Loser.

alexander pushkin- the queen of spades

has robert pulled one of his fast ones here with the ending? i think so... our friend the loser finds himself at the table in the final verse. perhaps he got his gold? it's finally time to wager on his "sure thing," which he expects to be a queen of diamonds. an accidental corollary to pushkin's famous "queen of spades"? i think not. for those of you who don't know the story, i won't go into detail, but basically a wily soldier seduces a young miss to gain access to her countess' gambling secret. before he can get it he scares the countess to death. after much trial he finally gains the secret, uses it in a card game, and in the final moment, when expecting an Ace to be drawn, he instead receives the queen of spades, which bares an eerie resemblance to the countess. he's ruined and goes insane. is this the imminent fate of our Loser?

...by the way she shines

Real life gambler in the news, 11/13/2014: At the San Diego area casino, Karabourniotis was videotaped twice marking cards at a blackjack table. He won $8,000 in one sitting, according to court records. Deputy District Attorney Andrew Aguilar said Karabourniotis was using his fingers to daub the cards with a substance, marking them in three different ways to signal that the card was either an ace, had a playing value of 10, or was a card worth seven, eight or nine points. "It gave him a slight edge, but in blackjack, that's enough," Aguilar said. "He was the last to get cards before the dealer, so he could either help his own hand or make the dealer go bust if he knew the value of the card that was going to be dealt next."

I thought the same thing as handjive - he's a cheat

Especially in light of the lines in the previous verse: "Well I know a little something you won't ever know Don't you touch hard liquor, just a cup of cold coffee Gonna get up in the morning and go" The "little something" he knows, I figure, is a method of cheating. They are leaving town early in the morning, before the drunks he's about to cheat sober up and realize they've been had. Apparently, he's not a real good cardsharp, because he needs to wait until his marks are good and drunk before he can get away with cheating, and he ran out of money before they got drunk enough. Now "everybody's bragging, and drinking that wine" - they're getting drunk and stupid - and "I can tell the Queen of Diamonds by the way she shines" - he's succeeded in marking the cards.

classic Hunter

to end a song with "I've got no chance of losing this time" and give it the title "Loser." Sort of like the narrator of Wharf Rat knowing his girl's been true to him.

Loser - St. James Infirmary

Loser has verses similar to those in "St. James Infirmary": Let her go, let her go, God bless her Wherever she may be She can look this wide world over But she'll never find a sweet man like me

Excellent write up

Not much more to say on such a great song. It has such an amazing atmosphere to it. Reminds me of the old west or the turn of the century, much like Friend of the Devil. Such timeless music, which is what Jerry and also the Dead were seeking.I always imagined the lyrics “I can tell the queen of diamonds by the way she shines” as a degenerate gambler's delusion about "knowing" how the queen of diamonds looks. Men covet that card, and maybe it does shine..

Manchurian Candidate

The queen of diamonds is what triggers his programmed hypnosis.

Thank you for your insight David.

It could be about gambling, but you could say it's a bet in a relationship. If anyone has had a relationship with an alcoholic, this song can completely relate to it ... Sweet Susie is a drunk and he's hoping she'll stop so he can stay with her. He keeps hoping she'll stop. All the times he keeps hoping is all the Aces... hope is the Ace. When she’s drunk, he’s alone. Her getting sober is like gold. It’s that valuable. She’s partying with people, drinking wine. HE is the deal he's offering her. He’s an honest man and even tells her replace the liquor with coffee instead. He sees her as the queen of diamonds if she'd just get sober and accept his deal. Her sober is a fair deal for them both, he can't lose. He really thinks she’s going to stop this time and his hope is so high. It’s an endless cycle, as anyone who’s been with an alcoholic knows.

Another view

I had another take as well today. Seemed like a metaphor for getting through this corrupt society these days. The lyrics mix in love and honesty without making it about winning and losing. Makes it more of social cpmmentary by GD.

The Loser

Just wanted to add that the line, "Come to Daddy, on an inside straight, I got no chance of losing this time" at the end of the song solidifies the protagonist as a loser, as in a typical poker game drawing to an inside straight is really a loser's bet, whereas drawing to a card on either end of the straight doubles your odds. He's gonna lose again. Brilliant songwriting.

He drew a full ace or 1ml…

He drew a full ace or 1ml shot of heroin. He's excited and knows it's gonna hit and give him his fix. Therfore there's no chance of losing this time.

The Loser is a loser because he cheats

The last verse has, "I can tell the queen of diamonds by the way she shines," which is a reference to a cheating technique called card shining (put a shiny object, usually a cigarette lighter on the table and deal while looking at the reflections of the cards). He is going to cheat, and win on an inside straight ("come to daddy, on an inside straight", and because he knows the hands, "I got no chance of losin' this time." He's relying on the fact that he's been drinking coffee and the others have been drinking for them not to notice what he's doing.

Brother man! That’s it!

What a strange sense of vindication I feel. I see it as clearly as you. Thanks for articulating it

well also

this is a Hunter song, so what the guy thinks and what's actually gonna happen may be at odds.

Harry Smith Anthology

If interested, Vol. 4 (2 CDs) was released in 2000; recordings range from 1927-1940. The Box Set comprises Vols. 1-3.

?

You blew this one.

It started with Deep Ellum Blues

Loser

Thanks to David Dodd for the series on the songs, or the "stories." Loser is as deeply emotional as anything Garcia/Hunter have ever written and performed; I think of it as Jerry's greatest vocal, it fits his range perfectly and he sings it with such complexity and depth. Funny that David has more sympathy for Jackstraw than Loser - there are a whole lot of bodies lying around in Jackstraw; Loser is a desperate gambler but he's just thinking about getting back in the black. But the chords, the melody, the lovely guitar break and the line "I've got no chance of losing this time" capture a bittersweetness and a desperate hope, or hopeful desperation, that is the pulse of life ........... and the metaphor of the "inside straight" - less than an 8% winning chance, the rule is you never try for it, only four cards out of 52 can squeeze into your straight - you're holding a 5-7-8-9; hence the "6" is "inside" the run of cards, where a 5-6-7-8 can be won by a "4" or a "9", that's 8 cards out of 52, at 15% still low but can be worth it under the right conditions. So for the anti-hero to say "Come to Daddy on an inside straight" and that he's "got no chance of losing this time" - the ultimate in hope despite the odds, maybe it's his day. I wake up like that each morning. A beautiful, deep tune, has stuck with me for 50 years.

Reply

Come to Daddy is the Loser talking to the large (ace/ 1ml) shot of heroin he's pushing with his one good hand. He knows it's gonna hit. That's why he has no chance of losing this time. He gonna get the gold. (Rush) plus inside straight. Inside your arm straight to the heart.

LOSER the way I see it

The song is deep no doubt. It has very many great lines that speak the emotion pretty clearly. The poker references and the risks. The lows and the highs. To me it does at the surface but it's an underlying spark of depressing yet soothing genius. It's about shooting heroin. I won't go through every lyric but I've drawn a few aces in my day and baby I pushed them all. Ace or 1ml is a full shot. Just saying. Hate to place that kind of a damper on a still amazing artistic conveyance. I'm not a heroin user. Though I have shot it 2 times. . Not My thing. Though I've sot enough drugs to understand the point of view of this character of self expression. From ether points of view. Pretty sure Hunter absorbed enough of the lifestyle to understand maybe more than some actual addicts. Come to daddy( the large ace or 1ml full syinge that he is excited to push baby with his one good hand) Love to hear everyones
thoughts on my take.

Right.

That was an illuminating viewpoint. I strongly agree

Loser interpretation

I like your take but i see a fundamentally different situation.
If I was to brag about all my successes in the past- “every ace I’ve drawn” I certainly would not represent that with the comparison to “a town the size of Abilene”. He’s not bragging. He’s building genuine trust by being self deprecating and honorable in admitting his losing past by way of this pathetic comparison. This then, in sequence, allows us a point of reference for which to juxtapose, and give value, to his forthcoming new plan. The lyrics then range from his pleading for trust to his guaranty of success within one good hand. By way of cheating (he “can tell the queen of diamonds by the way she shines”) and showing his good sense in remaining sober (“just a cup of cold coffee”) while the others become more vulnerable to his plan (bragging and drinking that wine”) they will make a clean get away in the morning.
And by the way, have no doubt that his offer/request is the real thing and is “the last fair deal” you’ll find. Desperate and pleading. And doomed. I hear a shift in voices like a lovers counter argument suggesting to her insane addict/loser to “put your gold money where your love is baby before you let my deal go down” . Then the tone of resignation and am atmospheric shift… back to the plan -
“everybody’s bragging…”, “I’ve got no chance of losing this time “. Ouch.
The gamblers life. The addicts tormenting vacuum sucking up whatever’s closest.

sweet Suzy

does anyone know if Sweet Suzy is a reference to an actual person, or just some cool alliteration that worked ( until Garcia decided it didn't)?
"I got no chance of losing this time...". Sounds like the delusional plaint of a guy who almost always loses. Who is he trying to convince?

Metaphorical Queen of Diamonds

One of my favorite songs ... and I have a somewhat different take on it. I believe he's an honest person, and I don't think he's in it to cheat. I see the Queen of Diamonds as a metaphor for the card that makes your hand. And it's not the card that shines ... it's you! And when I see that shine, i have picked up your tell, and I've got no chance of losing this time.

Once you figure out someone's tell, it's not about the odds any more. When they have their "Queen of Diamonds," you fold your beautiful loser and stop them from winning your stack. And when they missed their draw, you make that bet, the one they just cannot call, and you build your stack a little more, every time you make that move. If you can do this against just one person at a table, just a time or three per hour, your evening will be both lucrative and fun.

And I see our protagonist, arguing this point, wanting only to get back into the game. For though he just busted out, he figured out someone's tell, and all he needs is a Gold Dollar (or Ten depending on the decade) to get back in that game and put his tell to work.

To earn your trust, he shares with you his depth of experience ... a gun for every ace I've drawn could arm a town. He points out how they are bragging and drinking that wine, but he is only drinking coffee. He explains to you the tell and how it works ... I can tell the queen of diamonds, by the way she shines (in his eyes).

And, as a believer in the happy ending, I see him back in the game at the end ... putting that tell to work ... no chance of losing this time!

All aboard the metaphor train

To me this was always the cards-as-metaphor-for-life-in-general.

How many times have I felt that I finally, truly, had the sure thing?
No chance of losing……. THIS time.
Just like so many times before.

How many times have I been sure that I recognized the shine of that elusive Queen?
Was is it ever here at all?

It could be an illusion. Or could it be an allusion?

When Bobby “Ace” sings, after all these decades, of all the aces he has drawn, it has a ring of truth. Looking back, would he not say that in fact, he DID draw to the inside straight?

no no, don't worry 'bout me, no

You'll Never Find Another Honest Man

I think the key line in the song is the place where it ends: "And I've got no chance of losing this time." Dude, come on. The name of the song is "Loser." I think there's probably a good chance you're going to lose.

To me, this is a character sketch of a pathological gambler. This person isn't playing for amusement. He's compulsive. And he suffers from some of the delusions that are typical of people with a gambling addiction. The inability to walk away from the table despite losing all one's money, for starters. The belief that, having lost all your money, your luck is bound to change. The belief in the "sure thing" when in fact there is always the possibility of losing.

I think this song is typical of Hunter's lyrics in numerous ways. The old west setting. A desperate narrator, who is "on the run" from something. Gambling as a metaphor for the risks and random outcomes of life.

In this case, our guy thinks he knows the outcome, because knows which card is the Queen of Diamonds. It's not a metaphor, IMO, but literally true. He's noticed how the back of that card literally shines a little, so he believes he knows what the other guy is holding, and so he's got no chance of losing. If only he can get the money to stay in the game.

But the title implies he's actually a loser, and the minor key music supports the idea of a tragic outcome. Maybe the implication is that, even if he wins this hand, he's doomed in the long run. Which makes you wonder whether you'd be helping or hurting him by loaning him your gold dollar(s).

Other interpretations are equally plausible, of course. Which is why this is such a good lyric.

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