The GamblerKey: GTempo: 41On a  

warm summers evening, on a  

train bound for no

whereI met up with a gambler, we were both too tired to  

sleepSo 

 

we took turns at staring out the  

window at the  

darknessThe boredom overtook us and  

he began to  

speakHe said, son I’ve made a life out of  

reading people’s  

facesAnd knowing what the cards were, by the way they held their  

eyesSo if  

you don’t mind my sayin’, I can  

see you’re out of  

acesFor a  

taste of your  

whiskey, I’ll  

give you some  

advicetrans til ASo I  

handed him my bottle, and he  

drank down my last  

swallowThen he bummed a cigarette and asked me for a  

lightAnd the  

night got deathly quiet, and his  

face lost all ex

pressionSaid, if you’re  

gonna play the  

game, boy,  

you gotta learn to play it  

rightChorus:You got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’emKnow when to walk away and know when to runYou never count your money, when you’re sittin’ at the tableThere’ll be time enough for countin’, when the dealin’s doneEvery gambler knows that the secret to survive isKnowing what to throw away and knowing what to keep’Cos every hand’s a winner and every hand’s a loserAnd the best that you can hope for is that I end asleepAnd when he finished speakin’, he turned back for the windowCrushed out the cigarette, faded off to sleepAnd somewhere in the darkness, the gambler he broke evenBut in his final words I found an ace that I could keepchorus repeats 3x