THE GAMBLER  (Kenny Rodgers)
 
 
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On a warm summer's evening on a train bound for nowhere
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I met up with a gambler. We were both too tired to sleep.
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So we took turns a starin' out of the window at the darkness
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till boredom overtook us   and he began to speak.


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


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


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


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


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


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