Traces of Gambling Gens in Music [Treasure Hunt]: Taylor Swift

When it comes to different points of view and fresh perspectives or our pursue of blind spots and new angles of approach we all want to know more, whatever we might be doing. Nothing will stop us from digging deeper; no mud is too tough. Particularly when we mix it up with potentials of gains.

That’s just us, humans, and it’s what makes us so great.

Not that we always have to go distances, though. More often, what we seek is much closer than we think.

One of the nearest places to look for is in the experience of others; short of internet, books, and real-life movies, one of the most prominent medium to convey those learnings is…

Music.

It is a never-ending source of inspiration, uppers and downers, wisdom and wit. Accompanied by great lyrics, songs also provide for the everlasting library of insights we often quote, use as an inscription for gifts, or as a simple mean to write a love message.

(Please don’t tell you never wrote lyrics on a note and left it in the refrigerator for your girlfriend to find when she wakes up. If you haven’t — stop reading this right now! Go, write the stuff, and come back. You’ll thank us later. For those who did, they know exactly how it ends.)

Where were we? Oh, yes.

So…

Can we find useful information about gambling in lyrics?

If we were to organize an expedition into the land of music looking for, say, the other side of ourselves and casino games, luck and chances, choices and balances, what would we find?

If we were to explore the opus of an author or a band, could we discover some new views on how to handle ourselves better while we gamble?

We don’t know. And when we don’t know, what do we do? We explore!

The concept of such an expedition is simple — ask any question regarding gambling and try to find an appropriate answer in evolving landscapes of worldwide music.

Who knows, maybe lyrics can fill the pages with gambling gen for ages.

U2, Lady Gaga, Depeche Mode, Michael Jackson, Coldplay, Beyoncé, Deep Purple, Madonna, Radiohead, Drake, Elvis Presley, Prince, Guns N’ Roses, Rihanna, Queen, Ella Fitzgerald, Led Zeppelin, Alicia Keys, Oasis, Dolly Parton, Pink Floyd, Puff Daddy, Grace Jones, Evanescence, Daft Punk, Eminem, Porcupine Tree, Édith Piaf, David Bowie, Duran Duran, Amy Winehouse, Simon & Garfunkel, 50 Cent, Bruce Springsteen, The Smiths, Billy Joel, Britney Spears, The Clash, Whitney Houston, Jay-Z, AC/DC, Kanye West, Jocelyn Brown, The Rolling Stones, Bebel Gilberto, ZZ Top, Eurythmics, Kendrick Lamar, Ariana Grande, Aerosmith, Frank Sinatra, Nicki Minaj, Billy Holiday, Luis Armstrong, Pink, Celine Dion, Alison Moyet, Lisa Gerrard, Muse, Sigur Rós, St. Vincent, Nina Simone, Hammock, Brooks & Dunn…

The list is infinite.

There are as much different gambling answers as there are human tastes. It’s hard to envision Justin Bieber and Iron Maiden having the same opinion. Then again, nothing is impossible. The only way to find out is to sift through.

However…

The ultimate purpose of an expedition is to have fun!

Because when it comes to gambling and fun, those two should always walk hand in hand. And any opportunity to have fun in anything related to games of skill and luck is a good one.

To kick this one off, we decided to explore the musical world of Taylor Swift and her six albums.

About Taylor Swift

Negative. We’re not going there. We’re not telling you who is Taylor Alison Swift, one of the best-selling music artists of all time, one of the Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time, the recipient of 10 Grammys, one Emmy, 23 Billboard Music Awards, 12 Country Music Association Awards, the holder of ten Guinness World Records, and a remarkable human being.

In doing so, we probably set LCB record for shortest chapter ever written. Now let’s get them Q&A rolling!

On Gambling in General

How would the casino introduce itself to us, if it could speak? “I could show you incredible things… faster than wind, passionate as sin… I am not a princess, this ain’t a fairy tale… everyone here was someone else before… all we know is touch and go… all eyes on you, my magician… I’ll be right here on the ground when you come back down.”

How to describe one’s feeling toward gambling? “Untouchable like a distant diamond sky… I was riding shotgun with my hair undone in the front seat of his car, he’s got one-hand feel on the steering wheel, the other on my heart… you did a number on me… I did a number on you, but, honestly, baby, who’s counting… untouchable, burning brighter than the sun.”

Why do people think gambling is vice? “I took a chance, I took a shot and you might think I’m bulletproof, but I’m not… flashback to my mistakes, my rebounds, my earthquakes… all of this silence and patience, pining and anticipation, my hands are shaking from holding back from you... seems the only one who doesn’t see… beauty is the face in the mirror looking back at you.”

Why we gamble in the first place? “Walking through the crowd, the village is aglow, kaleidoscope of loud heartbeats under coats, everybody here wanted something more searching for a sound we hadn’t heard before… it drives you crazy but you know you wouldn’t change anything”

Why do players return to casinos for more? “It’s a new soundtrack, I could dance to this beat, beat forevermore, the lights are so bright but they never blind me… don’t know what’s down this road, I’m just walking trying to see through… don’t be afraid to jump then fall.”

On Wins and Losses

How to recover from a bad night at the casino? “Flashing lights and we took the wrong turn and we fell down a rabbit hole… lost your balance on a tightrope… made quite a mess, babe… there’s no time for tears… if you come around saying sorry for me, my daddy’s gonna show you how sorry you’ll be.”

Thoughts on losing streak? “Something’s gone terribly wrong… here’s everything coming down to nothing… did some things you can’t speak of but at night you live it all again… all I need is on the other side of the door… it’s hard not to find it all a little bittersweet… lookin’ back on all of that.”

How we perceive gambling wins, how do we feel? “The highlight of my day, I’m taking pictures in my mind so I can save them for a rainy day… all I know is we said hello and your eyes looked like coming home… I see sparks fly… I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now… my hands are shaking from all this.”

A welcome note to a winning streak? “You are the one I have been waiting for… we found wonderland — you and I got lost in it… and all the right pieces fall right into place… baby, I know places we won’t be found… I’ve been waiting for you ever since you’ve been gone… just wanna see you back at my door.”

How to describe a gambling loss? “Screaming, crying, perfect storms… there’s nothing I hate more than what I can’t have… state the obvious, I didn’t get my perfect fantasy… we play dumb but we know exactly what we’re doing… I can feel flames on my skin.”

How to cope with losing? “I shouldn’t be asking myself ‘why’… you should’ve say ‘no’, you should’ve gone home, you should’ve thought twice ‘fore you let it all go… I’m alone, on my own, and that’s all I know, I’ll be strong, I’ll be wrong, but life goes on… after everything that day had gone all wrong… well, on my way to my lovin’ bed.”

On Casinos and Games

An online casino welcome note to players? “Nice to meet you, where you been? I could show you incredible things, magic, madness, heaven, sin… ‘cause you know I love the players and you love the game… grab your passport and my hand… so it’s gonna be forever or it’s gonna go down in flames.”

Why do they say that house always wins? “My name is whatever you decide, and I’m just gonna call you mine… just playthings for me to use… I’ve been breaking hearts a long time… I took your matches before fire could catch me.”

Our attitude on favorite gambling games? “You have a way of coming easily to me, and when you take, you take the very best of me… don’t pretend it’s such a mystery, think about the place where you first met me… he’s the song in the car I keep singing… I wonder if he knows he’s all I think about at night.”

Thoughts on hitting jackpot at online slots? “Well, I don’t know how it gets better than this… flash forward and we’re taking on the world together… feeling so Gatsby… see nothing better, I keep him forever… in my dreams you should see the things we do, baby.”

What could roulette player say to the game? “You should think about the consequence of your magnetic field being a little too strong… as far as I’m concerned you’re just another picture to burn… don’t regret it one bit ‘cause he had it coming.”

On the psychology of poker table. “This is looking like a contest of who can act like they care less… all my flowers grew back as thorns… all the drama queens taking swings, all the jokers dressing up as kings.”

On Luck

What is luck, how do we look upon it? “All eyes on me, your illusionist… all eyes on us, you make everyone disappear… I’m still trying to figure it out… even though I’m not the only one who feels the way I do… I’m yours to keep and I’m yours to lose.”

When luck is walking away from us, what to say? “Ending so suddenly… why would you wanna make the very first scar… maybe it’s me and my blind optimism to blame… or maybe it’s you and your sick need to give love then take it away… no matter what you say, I still can’t believe that you would walk away.”

On better game decision you should have made? “You’ll see me in hindsight tangled up in you all night… I just think you should, think you should know that nothing safe is worth the drive… maybe I should’ve seen the signs, should’ve read the writing on the wall.”

What about chance? “I just wanna show you she don’t even know you… if you only knew me, we could be a beautiful miracle, unbelievable… look at you: worrying too much about things you can’t change... a nightmare dressed like a daydream.”

On forbidden fruits? “They say I did something bad then why’s it feel so good… most fun I ever had and I’d do it over and over and over again if I could, it just felt so good… my mind forgets to remind me you’re a bad idea.”

Regulations & Players

The U.S. lawmakers’ view on gambling and on the role of the national regulatory bodies? “The players gonna play, play, play, play, play, and the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, baby I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake.”

On the attitude casinos and affiliates should have towards players’ protection? “I feel a responsibility to do what’s upstanding and right, it’s kinda like a code… it’s probably better off this way.”

On irresponsible gamblers? “We wait for trains that just aren’t coming… you’ll spend your whole life singing the blues if you keep thinking that way… another name goes up in lights, you wonder if you’ll make it out alive… didn’t it all seem new and exciting… didn’t they tell us don’t rush into things.”

A piece of advice to new players? “Wasn’t it beautiful when you believed in everything… boys only want love if it’s torture, don’t say I didn’t say, I didn’t warn ya… the stakes are high, the water’s rough… this ain’t Hollywood.”

When iGamers see a new game, they say? “Saw you there and I thought… he’s so tall and handsome as hell, he’s so bad but he does it so well… wanna play? I’m dying to see how this one ends... look at that face you look like my next mistake.”

Expedition Findings

What did we bring back? “I didn’t know what I would find when I went looking… nothing seems to work the first few times… we can’t make any promises now, can we… we are alone with our changing minds… I know that it’s delicate, is it cool that I said all that, is it too soon to do this yet… did I say something way too honest?”

What we see, hear, feel, what we conclude in the end boils down to ourselves and the ability to befriend strangers in the strange lands and on our own lands. Or, we can just treat it like a treasure hunt — no one really knows what we might stumble upon as we dig deeper.

One way or the other…

Music makes all findings a bit more comfortable and appealing to digest.

Because all of us want to evaluate fresh perspectives that might enable us to win more and feel so Gatsby. That’s just us, gamblers, and that’s what makes us so great.

Not that we always have to go all in, though.

Sometimes, music on headsets or dance floors will suffice. With lyrics, written on the small notes for your girlfriend to find.

At least those ones always end the same way — “I struck a match and blew your mind… there we are again in the middle of the night, we’re dancing around the kitchen in the refrigerator light.”