Dan Bern (aka Bernstein, a name under which he sometimes performs) is a gui… Read Full Bio ↴Dan Bern (aka Bernstein, a name under which he sometimes performs) is a guitarist, singer, songwriter, and painter. His music is often compared to that of Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Bruce Springsteen and Elvis Costello. His song "Talkin' Woody, Bob, Bruce, and Dan Blues," from the album Smartie Mine, offers a joking take on this influence, presented in the style of a Guthrie or Dylan talking blues song, and containing a spoof of a Dylan song as well. Bernstein has also toured with Ani DiFranco. He is known for sardonic, literary lyrics, a range of musical styles, and a folk music style paired with rock instrumentation. He also wrote the novel Quitting Science (2004) under the pen name Cunliffe Merriwether and wrote the preface under his own name.

Although a vein of social and political humor runs though even his earliest work, Bern's work became more explicitly political during the 2004 US presidential election campaign, with songs such as "Bush Must Be Defeated" and "President" highlighting his sometimes surreal political takes.

Bern is reflexively literate, in the style of his favorite authors, including L.A.'s legendary bohemians Charles Bukowski and John Fante, urbane fantasist James Thurber, and yarn-spinning humorist Ring Lardner. He is in love with the power of words to turn on themselves, to frolic, to bite, and his strong, friendly voice can go from earnest to ferocious within seconds. Being captivated by Dan is the easy part; describing his music to the non-initiated is more difficult. One journalist tried: "topical-poetical-sarcastic-punk-folk." An admirable effort, further elaborated by the New York Times: "He veers from comedy to anger, conjectures to shaggy-dog stories; he takes sidelong approaches to theology, science fiction, consumer culture, art, love and baseball."

Gamblin' With My Love
Dan Bern Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴

Well, I was writing a play
About Pete Rose and Bart Giamatti
It takes place in a Motel 6
Just outside of Cincinnatti

There's a table and a bottle of whiskey
They're drinking but they light a cigarette first
Pete Rose looks terrible

Giamatti looks worse

Giamatti says Pete, be straight with me
Have you been gambling on games?
Pete says Commissioner
Where I come from, we bet on everything

He says, Let's just get to the point Pete
Did you ever bet on your own team
I'm not sure what Pete's gonna reply
But I think I'll have the telephone ring

It's gonna be Shoeless Joe Jackson
Calling from Tangiers
He says Commissioner, if you don't throw him out
What have I been doing all these years?

Bagging groceries and painting houses
Having to to beg and steal and rob
Pete tries to grab the receiver, he says
I can tell you stuff about Ty Cobb

Then I hear a knocking
A knocking at my door
It's my sweet Martha and I open up
And she crawls in on the floor

Says put down your paper and pen, boy
That can wait another day
I say what's wrong? She grabs my leg, says
All I've got to say is

Are you gambling with my love?
Are you saying you don't care?
Are you gambling with my love
While you sit there in that chair?
Are you gonna gamble
Are you gonna gamble
Gamblin' with my love?

I say girl, I got backers
I've got money people waiting for this stuff
I've got a theater off Broadway convinced
One act ain't gonna be enough

I said I'm starting to roll with this dialogue
I'm getting inside Pete Rose's head
I say he can taste the Hall of Fame
She says don't you want to taste me instead?

I say girl, do you understand how with four thousand hits
A man could still feel emptiness?
And I have Pete say Commissioner, what've you got in your hand?
And he says can't you guess?

Pete says if I was a betting man
I'd say you were trying to bluff me to my face
Commissioner says too bad you ain't as good playing the odds
As you are playing second base

Ooh, ooh
Gamblin' with my love

So she says well, what does Mrs. Rose have to say about all this?
I say I don't know, I haven't thought about Mrs. Rose
And I lean over and give Martha a kiss
She says you've got two guys in a hotel room
No other characters or special effects?
I say there's plenty of drama there
She says three acts, no sex?

She says there is a Mrs. Rose, though, yeah?
I say yeah, there is, I suppose
She says what's their chemistry?
What are her specifics?
Does she have a wig?
Does she wear support hose?

I say baby, you're wearing me out
I need a break
What do you say we turn down the bed
She looks at me, she rolls her eyes
Grabs my pen and says

Are you gambling with my love?
Are you saying you don't care?
Are you gambling with my love
While you sit there in that chair?
Are you gonna gamble
Are you gonna gamble
Gamblin' with my love

So now it goes like this
Pete Rose and Giamatti in a hotel room
Mrs. Rose bursts in and says
Damn it, Pete, I carried your children in my womb

She says Mr. Giamatti, you need this man
As much as he needs you
She says judge not lest ye be judged
Turns to Pete and says

Are you gambling with my love?
Are you saying you don't care?
Are you gambling with my love
While you sit there in that chair?
Are you gonna gamble
Are you gonna gamble
Gamblin' with my love

Are you gambling with my love?
Are you saying you don't care?
Are you gambling with my love
While you sit there in that chair?
Are you gonna gamble
Are you gonna gamble
Gamblin' with my love

Ooh, ooh
Gamblin' with my love

Ooh, ooh
Gamblin' with my love

Overall Meaning

The song "Gamblin' With My Love" by Dan Bern is a deeply metaphorical song that speaks to the dangers of addiction and gambling. The song is deceptively simple, telling the story of a man, presumably the songwriter, who is writing a play about the moment Pete Rose, the famous baseball player, was confronted by Bart Giamatti, the commissioner of baseball at the time, about gambling on games. The writer is interrupted when his love interest, Martha, comes into the room and asks him if he's gambling with her love. From there, the song becomes a conversation between the two about the nature of addiction and the sacrifices one makes for their vices.

The song is first and foremost about addiction and the ways that addiction can lead us to make decisions that hurt ourselves and those around us. The writer is so focused on his work that he doesn't even realize how much his addiction to writing is affecting his relationship with Martha. Similarly, Pete Rose is so addicted to gambling that he's willing to bet on his own team, something that is seen as deeply unethical in baseball. The song uses the metaphor of gambling to speak to the ways that addiction more broadly can cloud our judgment and lead us down dangerous paths.

Another important theme in the song is the idea of the mask we wear for others versus the person we truly are on the inside. Both Pete Rose and the writer of the play have to present themselves to the world in a certain way. Pete Rose was a talented baseball player who was loved and adored by fans, but behind closed doors, he was a gambling addict. The writer of the play is similarly trying to project an image of himself as a successful and accomplished creator, but in reality, he's struggling with addiction and relationship problems. The song speaks to the idea that we all wear masks in some way, and how dangerous it can be when we're not honest with ourselves and others about who we truly are.

Overall, "Gamblin' With My Love" is a powerful and insightful song that speaks to the ways that addiction can affect our decision-making, relationships, and self-image. It's a metaphorical song that allows the listener to apply its lessons to their own lives and experiences.

Contributed by Lauren V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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