He said he’d thrown down the gauntlet of peace
What a strange way to stretch out a hand
I suspected right then that it wasn’t for real
But I hoped that it might go as planned
And after a year I could hardly believe
That the streets were all emptied of guns
But then the marked cards were sliped into the pack
And the rules of the game came undone

And the dealer sat shuffling his favourite deck
While the players all stood on their guard
Did they know that he never intended to deal
He was building a new house of cards, house of cards

For hundreds of years we had waited in vain
And the prize was within reach at last
But just like the flash of a conjurer’s hand
It quickly slipped out of our grasp
And now the hard men can all say that they tried
They don’t dare check their guns at the door
And there’s nobody ready to pick up the cards
That lie scattered all over the floor

And the dealer sat shuffling his favourite deck
While the players all stood on their guard
Did they know that he never intended to deal
He was building a new house of cards, house of cards

And now were right back where we started before
The hopes have all turned into fears
And on both sides the guns will be loaded again
And the fighting could drag on for years
And the dealer still stares at the cards on the floor
With a thin smile he covers his shame
Is there nobody left that can deal a fair hand
And play by the rules of the game

And the dealer sat shuffling his favourite deck
While the players all stood on their guard
Did they know that he never intended to deal
He was building a new house of cards?
Oh the dealer sat shuffling his favourite deck
While the players all stood on their guard
Did they know that he never intended to deal
He was building a new house of cards, house of cards
House of cards

Words and Music, Robbie O’Connell © 1996
Slievenamon Music (BMI)