D G/D D On a warm summer's evenin' on a train bound for nowhere A I met up with the gambler we were both too tired to sleep D G/D D So we took turns a starin' out the window at the darkness G/D D A D til boredom overtook us and he began to speak D G/D D He said Son I've made a life out of readin' people's faces A and knowin' what their cards were by the way they held their eyes D G/D D And if you don't mind my sayin' I can see you're out of aces G/D D A D For a taste of your whiskey I'll give you some advice D G D So I handed him my bottle and he drank down my last swallow A Then he bummed a cigarette and asked me for a light D G D And the night got deathly quiet and his face lost all expression G D A D Said If you're gonna play the game boy ya gotta learn to play it right D G D You got to know when to hold 'em know when to fold 'em G D A know when to walk away and know when to run D Em/A D G D You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table G D A D There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done Slide capo to 2nd fret D G D Ev'ry gambler knows that the secret to survivin' A is knowin' what to throw away and knowing what to keep D G D Cause ev'ry hand's a winner and ev'ry hand's a loser G D A D and the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep D G D And when he'd finished speakin' he turned back towards the window A crushed out his cigarette and faded off to sleep D G D And somewhere in the darkness the gambler he broke even G D A D But in his final words I found an ace that I could keep D G D You got to know when to hold 'em know when to fold 'em G D A know when to walk away and know when to run D Em/A D G D You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table G D A D There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done Repeat chorus once and end
