The Gambler

Song The Gambler
Artist Kenny Rogers
Album Floorfillers - The Ultimate Collection

Lyrics

[00:06.99] On a warm summer's evening on a train bound for nowhere
[00:13.17] I met up with a gambler, we were both too tired to sleep
[00:17.38] So we took turns a-staring out the window at the darkness
[00:22.91] The boredom overtook us, and he began to speak
[00:27.58] He said, son I've made my life out of reading people's faces
[00:33.13] And knowing what the cards were by the way they held their eyes
[00:38.26] So if you don't mind my sayin', I can see you're out of aces
[00:43.60] For a taste of your whiskey I'll give you some advice
[00:50.38] So I handed him my bottle, and he drank down my last swallow
[00:55.70] Then he bummed a cigarette and asked me for a light
[01:00.77] And the night got deathly quiet, and his face lost all expression
[01:06.20] Said, if you're gonna play the game, boy, you gotta learn to play it right
[02:43.38][02:21.34][01:11.64] You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em
[02:49.29][02:27.51][01:17.91] Know when to walk away, know when to run
[02:54.05][02:32.30][01:22.43] You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table
[02:59.62][02:38.03][01:28.12] There'll be time enough for countin', when the dealin's done
[01:36.40] Now, every gambler knows, the secret to survivin'
[01:43.35] Is knowing what to throw away, knowing what to keep
[01:47.92] 'Cause every hand's a winner and every hand's a loser
[01:54.14] And the best you can hope for is to die in your sleep
[01:59.10] So when he'd finished speakin', he turned back toward the window
[02:05.22] Crushed out his cigarette and faded off to sleep
[02:10.28] Then somewhere in the darkness, the gambler he broke even
[02:16.06] But in his final words I found an ace that I could keep