Interpret:

Kenny Rogers

Album:

Through the Years: A Retrospective

On a warm summer evening
on a train bound for nowhere
i met up with the gambler
we were both too tired to sleep


So we took turns a stareing
out the window at the darkness
til boredom overtook us 
he began to speak


He said,son,i´ve made my life
out of reading peoples faces
and knowing what their cards were
by the way they held their eyes.


So if you don´nt mind my sayin,
i can see you´re out of aces
for a taste of your whiskey
i´ll give you some advice


So i handed him my bottle
and he drank down my last swallow
then he bummed a cigarette
and ask me for a light


And the night got deathly quiet
and his face lost all expression
said,if your gonna play the game,boy
your got to learn to play it right


You got to know when to hold´em
know when to fold them
know when to walk away 
and know when to run.
You never count your money
when your sittin at the table
there´ll be time enough for counting
when the dealin is done.


Now every gambler knows
that the secret to survive in
is knowing what to throw away
and knowing what to keep


Cause every hands a winner
and every hands a loser
and the best you can hope for
is to die in your sleep.


So when he finished speaking
he turned back towards the window
crushed out his cigarette
and feded off to sleep.


And somwhere in the darkness
the gambler he broke even
but in his final words i found
an ace that i could keep.


You got to know when to hold´em
know when to fold them
know when to walk away
and know when to run,
you never count your money 
when your sittin at the table
there´ll be time enough for counting
when the dealin is done


You got to know when to hold´em 
know when to fold them
know when to walk away
and know when to run,
you never count your money
when your sittin at the table
there´ll be time enough for counting
when the dealin is done.