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!
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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?
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