Karaoke The Gambler Kenny Rogers

On a warm summer's 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-staring out the window at the darkness

'Till boredom overtook us and he began to speak

He said

Son I've made a life out of reading people's faces

And knowing what their cards were by the way they held their eyes

So if you don't mind my saying

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 asked me for a light

And the night got deathly quiet and his face lost all expression

Said if you're gonna play the game boy you gotta learn to play it right

You got to know when to hold 'em

Know when to fold 'em

Know when to walk away and know when to run

You never count your money when you're sitting at the table

There'll be time enough for counting when the dealing's done

Every gambler knows that the secret to survivin' is knowing what to throw away and knowing what to keep

'Cos every hand's a winner and every hand's a loser

And the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep

And when he finished speaking

He turned back towards the window

Crushed out his cigarette and faded off to sleep

And somewhere 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 'em

Know when to walk away and know when to run

You never count your money when you're sitting at the table

There'll be time enough for counting when the dealing's done

You got to know when to hold 'em

Know when to fold 'em

Know when to walk away and know when to run

You never count your money when you're sitting at the table

There'll be time enough for counting when the dealing's done

You got to know when to hold 'em

Know when to fold 'em

Know when to walk away and know when to run

You never count your money when you're sitting at the table

There'll be time enough for counting when the dealing's done