24 July 2011

Stream of Consciousness Sunday ~ The Gambler


The Gambler lyrics
Artist: Kenny Rogers Songwriter: Don Schlitz

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

He said, "Son, I've made a life, out of readin' people's faces
And knowin' what their cards were by the way they held their eyes
So if you don't 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 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 sittin' at the table
There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealing's done

Every gambler knows that the secret to survivin'
Is knowin' what to throw away and knowing what to keep
'Cause 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 speakin', 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 sittin' at the table
There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealing's done

I've got to stop thinking so much when I write these...what's there should not have taken me 5 minutes to type!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
#SOCsunday



I was listening to The Gambler last night...I love that song! Which is kind of interesting as I have never gambled in my life. Ok, I take gambles all the time, but I don't do the monetary/gaming gambling. For the most part I'm not a huge risk taker.

But one line from the chorus has always stood out to me
"Know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em" 
It so much more than just about the game, it's about real life (which may be the point of the song, and is why I love country music).

How do you know when and how long to hold onto something? When is the right time to let it go? Is it really just luck or is there skill involved?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Share your thoughts and come join me on Google+, Facebook, and/or Twitter!

This was my 5 minute Stream of Consciousness Sunday post. It’s five minutes of your time and a brain dump. Want to try it? Here are the rules…
  • Set a timer and write for 5 minutes only.
  • Write an intro to the post if you want but don’t edit the post. No proofreading or spellchecking. This is writing in the raw.
  • Publish it somewhere. Anywhere. The back door to your blog if you want. But make it accessible.
  • Add the Stream of Consciousness Sunday badge to your post.
  • Link up your post here.
  • Visit your fellow bloggers and show some love.

12 comments:

  1. I've always loved that song too. Seems to be a life-lesson hidden in the words and I think that's also the appeal for me.

    I think knowing when to let go is a mixture luck, skill and intuition.most often you just "know".

    ReplyDelete
  2. You've got me! I can't play poker as I give away what I have with my facial expressions. Love Kenny Rogers to pieces!

    Elyse

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for visiting my blog today. I appreciate it. You've got your hands full. You definitely need a night out now and then like I had last night. I am going to have a link up on August 1 for recipe sharing, meal planning tips. My post on Saturday has the details. I hope you link up and join me.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm not sure who that is in the photo, but it's not me. :) LOL.

    ReplyDelete
  5. www.hinessightblog.com I have no idea about that photo in the profile. So strange.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Good Girl Gone GreenJuly 24, 2011 at 7:58 PM

    I love the Gambler. It is one of my favorite songs! I think sometimes I just know to let go and other times I just can't take a clue! LOL and me too, not me in the picture!!! Have a great week....

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'll tell you when to let go. You have to trust your heart, your head, and your instincts. Those are the feelings you have when you're not really THINKING about something. They are there in all of us. Most of us just haven't figured out how to listen to them.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I've never tried to play...I don't see it ending well!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Disqus started using an old profile pic of mine as the default for anyone who doesn't have a profile with them...it should be fixed for all future comments, sorry about that!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Practice makes perfect, right?

    Sorry about the pic, I think I worked out the issue with Disqus, they were using an old profile pic of mine as the default...

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thanks...I guess now the trick is to learn to stop thinking so much! :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. I've always loved that song too. Seems to be a life-lesson hidden in the words and I think that's also the appeal for me.

    I think knowing when to let go is a mixture luck, skill and intuition.most often you just "know".

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...