Laughing Boy and Lumberjack

Learn a multi-phase rendition of Dr. Daley’s Last Trick inspired by the game of Euchre and an old American folk song! 😆🪓

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you’ll know I’m writing a book called Developing Daley, which is dedicated to a single card plot: Dr. Daley’s Last Trick. To help me write the book, I’ve decided to serialise the content on Marty’s Bag of Tricks (see all of my posts related to Dr. Daley’s Last Trick). I’ll do this until I’ve managed to write explanations for all the tricks I want to include in the project. As it stands, I’ve documented well over fifty variations of Jacob Daley’s most famous trick! The tricky part is turning my notes and half-baked ideas into something another person would understand.

I’ve decided to publish the tricks in groups of three in my regular Ruseletter column, Packet Trick Paradise. The Ruselleter is my regular magic email newsletter. It uses a freeven publishing model, which means that every even-numbered article published in the column is available for free. The others will be exclusive to paid Ruseletter subscribers until the book sees print.

I’ve just published one of my favourite handlings of the plot, “Laughing Boy and Lumberjack”, to the Ruseletter. You can learn this trick right now, completely free of charge. Remember, once you know a secret, you cannot unlearn it. If you enjoy watching magic and have no real intention of performing this trick, I recommend you don’t read the explanation. Doing so may well ruin the joy magic for you. If, however, you like performing card tricks or you’re an aspiring cardician, then dive right in!

This effect will appear in Developing Daley when it’s finally finished, alongside a couple of variations; one that only uses four Jacks (no Jokers) and another that is very similar in effect but uses a slightly different handling. 

This trick is more complex than “The Jaybird Jump” (see Packet Trick Paradise #3). Still, it includes many more moments of magic and a compelling hook based on the trick-taking card game of Euchre (pronounced yew-ker) and the traditional folk song “Jack of Diamonds” or “Rye Whiskey”. 🥃

Laughing Boy and Lumberjack. Image Credit: MBOT via Canva.

If you’ve ever played the video game Red Dead Redemption 2, you might be familiar with the song. I’ve never played it, although I’d like to. Being a dad of three means I don’t have much time for video games. However, the song is now a favourite of my two-year-old daughter, Adelaide (who, if you’re wondering, was named after the Queen of Magic). There’s something very amusing about a toddler singing, “Oh whiskey, you villain, you’ve been my downfall. You’ve kicked me, you’ve cuffed me and caused me to brawl.” I’m expecting a phone call from social services any day now!

The song cautions about the destructive impact of excessive alcohol consumption on the life of a wandering cowboy. The song does have its more light-hearted moments, as the following verse illustrates:

If the ocean were whiskey and I were a duck,
I’d dive to the bottom and get one sweet sup.
But the ocean ain’t whiskey, and I ain’t no duck.
So I’ll play Jack of Diamonds, and then we’ll get drunk!

🥃🦆

Here’s a cover of “Rye Whiskey” by YouTubers Christian Larsson and CamillasChoice (this is currently Adelaide’s favourite version of the song):

“Rye Whiskey” from Red Dead Redemption 2, performed by Christian Larsson and CamillasChoice. Video Credit: Christian Larsson via YouTube.

While researching this song to improve the presentation of “Laughing Boy and Lumberjack”, I discovered that the Jack of Diamonds is often mentioned in old American folk songs. I’m not entirely sure why. I’m going to do some digging and try and find out. I know that “Jack of Diamonds” is a Texas gambling song popularised by a blues singer named Blind Lemon Jefferson in the 1920s.

However, this song appears to be based on, at least in part, a much older folk song that goes by many alternative names, such as “Jack o’ Diamonds”, “Rye Whiskey”, “Drunkard’s Hiccoughs”, “Clinch Mountain” and the “Devil’s Waltz”. This is the same song that inspired the one included in Red Dead Redemption 2. 

You can expect a more detailed blog post about this song soon.