https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn481KcjvMo&feature=relatedThe GamblerOn a warm summer 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 peoples' 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.
"If you're gonna play the game, boy, ya gotta learn to play it right."
Ya 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 dealin's done.
Now 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.
So when he'd 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 dealin'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 sittin' at the table.
There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done.
Album: The Gambler Released: 1978 US Chart: 16Song Facts: Written by Don Schlitz, this is a story told from the first-person perspective about a conversation with an old poker player on a train. The card shark gives life advice to the narrator in the form of poker metaphors, before dying in his sleep.
This song spawned the poker catchphrase, "
Know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em."
A 1979 made-for-TV movie called The Gambler, which was inspired by this song, became the biggest rated TV film of the year and spawned several other movies.
This entered the UK charts for the first time in 2007 after being popularised by the England Rugby team. During the Rugby World Cup the prop forward Matt Stevens warmed up for games by performing the song in the dressing room on his guitar and the England team subsequently adopted it as an unofficial anthem during their successful run to final of the tournament.
