Written by Neil Sedaka and Phil Cody for Sedaka's 1972 British comeback album, using the solitary card game as a solemn metaphor for self-inflicted isolation and lost love.
Recorded on Carpenters' 1975 album Horizon, Richard crafted a cinematic arrangement that prompted Sedaka himself to declare Karen's interpretation the finest vocal performance of his career.
A crowning achievement in slow-burn vocal storytelling, transmuting a personal confessional ballad into a monumental sanctuary of immaculate melancholy.