The Gambler

Kenny Rogers

    G                          C               G
On a warm summer's evenin' on a train bound for nowhere,
 C               G                                 D
I met up with the gambler; we were both too tired to sleep.
  G                               C             G
So we took turns a starin' out the window at the darkness
    C           G        D               G
'til boredom overtook us, and he began to speak.


[Verse 2]

        G                             C                G
He said, "Son, I've made a life out of readin' people's faces,
   C                  G                                      D
and knowin' what their cards were by the way they held their eyes.
      G                               C                 G
And if you don't mind my sayin', I can see you're out of aces.
     C             G            D             G
For a taste of your whiskey I'll give you some advice."


[Verse 3]

    G                           C                  G
So I handed him my bottle and he drank down my last swallow.
C                G                              D
Then he bummed a cigarette and asked me for a light.
       G                                C                 G
And the night got deathly quiet, and his face lost all expression.
                C                    G             D                G
Said, "If you're gonna play the game, boy, ya gotta learn to play it right.


[Chorus]

          G                     C             G
You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em,
C            G                         D
know when to walk away and know when to run.
         G                            C              G
You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table.
                C          G        D                 G
There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done.


[Verse 4] (transpose +1 here if you want to play it correctly)

G                             C             G
Ev'ry gambler knows that the secret to survivin'
  C               G                             D
is knowin' what to throw away and knowing what to keep.
      G                         C              G
'Cause ev'ry hand's a winner and ev'ry hand's a loser,
       C                 G              D           G
and the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep."


[Verse 5]

   G                               C                       G
And when he'd finished speakin', he turned back towards the window,
C               G                         D
crushed out his cigarette and faded off to sleep.
   G                             C                 G
And somewhere in the darkness the gambler, he broke even.
   C            G                D                G
But in his final words I found an ace that I could keep.


[Chorus]