The Gambler Kenny Rogers
On a [D]warm summer's evenin' on a tr[G]ain bound for [D]nowhere,
[D]I met up with the gambler; we were both too tired to [A7]sleep.
So [D]we took turns a starin' out the [G]window at the d[D]arkness
'til boredom overtook us, [A7]and he began to [D]speak.
He said, [D]"Son, I've made a life out of [G]readin' people's [D]faces,
and knowin' what their cards were by the way they held their [A7]eyes.
And if [D]you don't mind my sayin', I can [G]see you're out of [D]aces.
For a [G]taste of your [D]whiskey I'll [A7]give you some [D]advice."
So I [D]handed him my bottle and he [G]drank down my last [D]swallow.
Then he bummed a cigarette, and asked me for a [A7]light.
And the [D]night got deathly quiet, and his [G]face lost all expr[D]ession.
Said, "If you're [G]gonna play the g[D]ame, boy, ya gotta [A7]learn to play it [D]right.
Chorus:
You got to [D]know when to hold 'em,[G] know when to [D]fold 'em,
[G]know when to [D]walk away and know when to [A7]run.
You never [D]count [G]your [D]money when you're [G]sittin' at the [D]table.
There'll be t[G]ime enough for [D]countin' [A7]when the dealin's [D]done.
Verse 4: (Key change)
[E]Ev'ry gambler knows that the [A]secret to surv[E]ivin'
is knowin' what to throw away and knowing what to [B7]keep.
'Cause [E]ev'ry hand's a winner and [A]ev'ry hand's a [E]loser,
and the [A]best that you can [E]hope for is to [B7]die in your [E]sleep."
Verse 5:
And [E]when he'd finished speakin', he [A]turned back towards the [E]window,
crushed out his cigarette and faded off to [B7]sleep.
And [E]somewhere in the darkness the [A]gambler, he broke [E]even.
But [A]in his final [E]words I found an [B7]ace that I could [E]keep.
Chorus:
You got to [E]know when to hold 'em, [A]know when to f[E]old 'em,
[A]know when to [E]walk away and know when to [B7]run.
You never [E]count [A]your [E]money when you're [A]sittin' at the [E]table.
There'll be t[A]ime enough for [E]countin' [B7]when the dealin's [E]done.
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