The Gambler
Kenny Rogers Lyrics

On a warm summer's evening
It was a warm summer night

On a train bound for nowhere
They were on a train going somewhere that he didn't know

I met up with the gambler
He met a man who was a gambler

We were both too tired to sleep
Both of them were too tired to fall asleep

So we took turns a-starin'
They took turns looking out the window

Out the window at the darkness
They looked outside at the darkness

The boredom overtook us
They were very bored

And he began to speak
The gambler started talking

He said, "Son, I've made a life
The gambler began talking to the man, calling him "son", and told him that he had made a life

Out of readin' people's faces
His trade was being able to read people's expressions

Knowin' what the cards were
He could tell which cards a person had

By the way they held their eyes
He knew what the cards were by the way people looked

So if you don't mind my sayin'
The gambler asked the man if he could offer him some advice

I can see you're out of aces
He could tell the man had no more cards from his expression

For a taste of your whiskey
The gambler asked for a sip of the man's whiskey

I'll give you some advice"
He promised to give advice for the whiskey

So I handed him my bottle
The man gave the gambler his whiskey bottle

And he drank down my last swallow
The gambler drank the last of the whiskey

Then he bummed a cigarette
The gambler asked for a cigarette

And asked me for a light
He asked the man for a light for his cigarette

And the night got deathly quiet
The night became very quiet

And his face lost all expression
The gambler's face showed no emotion

Said, "If you're gonna play the game, boy
The gambler said to the man, “if you wanna play the game”

You gotta learn to play it right
He advised that one must know how to play the game correctly

You've got to know when to hold 'em
You should know when to keep playing

Know when to fold 'em
You should know when to quit

Know when to walk away
You should know when to leave

And know when to run
Sometimes you may have to run to avoid trouble

You never count your money
He advised that you should never be too confident

When you're sittin' at the table
When you’re playing the game, you shouldn't focus too much on your chips or money

There'll be time enough for countin'
You will have time to count your winnings later on

When the dealin's done
When it's all over and done with

Every gambler knows
It is common knowledge among all gamblers

That the secret to survivin'
The key to survival

Is knowin' what to throw away
Knowing what to get rid of

And knowin' what to keep
Knowing what is of value

'Cause every hand's a winner
Every hand is promising

And every hand's a loser
But at the same time, every hand is risky

And the best that you can hope for
The best thing to hope for as a gambler

Is to die in your sleep"
Is to die peacefully in one’s sleep

And when he'd finished speakin'
The gambler stopped talking

He turned back toward the window
He faced the window again

Crushed out his cigarette
He put out his cigarette

Faded off to sleep
He fell asleep

And somewhere in the darkness
Somewhere in the dark, hidden from view

The gambler he broke even
The gambler neither lost nor won

But in his final words
In the gambler's last words

I found an ace that I could keep
The man learned something valuable that he could hold onto

You've got to know when to hold 'em
You should know when to keep playing

Know when to fold 'em
You should know when to quit

Know when to walk away
You should know when to leave

And know when to run
Sometimes you may have to run to avoid trouble

You never count your money
He advised that you should never be too confident

When you're sittin' at the table
When you’re playing the game, you shouldn't focus too much on your chips or money

There'll be time enough for countin'
You will have time to count your winnings later on

When the dealin's done
When it's all over and done with

You've got to know when to hold 'em (when to hold 'em)
You should know when to keep playing

Know when to fold 'em (when to fold 'em)
You should know when to quit

Know when to walk away
You should know when to leave

And know when to run
Sometimes you may have to run to avoid trouble

You never count your money
He advised that you should never be too confident

When you're sittin' at the table
When you’re playing the game, you shouldn't focus too much on your chips or money

There'll be time enough for countin'
You will have time to count your winnings later on

When the dealin's done
When it's all over and done with

You've got to know when to hold 'em
You should know when to keep playing

Know when to fold 'em
You should know when to quit

Know when to walk away
You should know when to leave, never chase losses

And know when to run
Knowing when an escape is the only viable option for success

You never count your money
Don’t keep an eye on your profits while you are still at the table

When you're sittin' at the table
In the moment of playing the game

There'll be time enough for countin'
After the game, there will be time to count the earnings

When the dealin's done
When the game comes to an end