Music Existence Because of Music, We Exist
It’s always fun to remember the classics, with music perhaps being a prime example of this. The shorter form length of songs compared to something like movies means that you can get in, whet your nostalgic appetite, and get out, without the memory overstaying its welcome. Of the topics that songs prefer to focus on, gambling crops up with surprising regularity. Taking this lens and applying it to older music might have you discovering titles that you weren’t acquainted with before.
Why gambling, though? What does each of these songs have to say about this primary activity that can tie it together with the greater message being conveyed?
Motorhead – Ace of Spades
Often cited as one of the most popular songs about casino games, the song that is regularly cited as Motorhead’s magnum opus takes a heavy focus on gambling from the outset. This might clear up any doubts in your mind that this song is about anything other than gambling, but taking a broader perspective might illuminate a different suggestion – instead of being specifically about gambling, the focus here is about taking risks.
That’s something that could be applied to any number of scenarios, including the kind of gaming referenced in the song through sites like spincasino.com/ca/. Not exclusively, however, and it might be that you feel that this is more of an encouragement to step outside of your comfort zone and take your life in more exciting directions.
Kenny Rogers – The Gambler
As memorable and recognizable as classic songs go, you don’t have to look very deeply into songs about gambling to see this name crop up. While it’s hard to deny that the gambling aspect is a focus, it incorporates other elements such as individualism that lead the song to take on something of a Western aesthetic, akin to the lone gunslinger drifting in and out of various towns. For this reason, it might be seen as being less about the activity itself (as in the way that Ace of Spades uses that as a frame to extrapolate outwards) and more about the character in the song. The mentality of the character seems to take center stage too, with a focus on learning from your losses.
Rogers has spoken about how the song is something that was inspired by his father, which further adds the personal edge to it.
Elvis Presley – Viva Las Vegas
Instead of a focus on the activity or any specific individual characters, Elvis decides to make the entirety of Vegas the central player in this classic song. Las Vegas is a place that has its iconography and identity, and it’s nearly impossible to dissociate its identity from gambling. That’s a fact that people are going to feel differently about, with this song seemingly landing on the more positive side of the spectrum when it comes to perceptions. That being said, the repetitive and consistent fast-paced nature of it makes it difficult to dwell on any particular aspect for too long, which could reflect one of the more experiential qualities of the location.
