5 Chords used in the song: D, G/D, A, G, Em/A
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Transpose chords:
Capo 1st Fret
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]
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About this song: Gambler
"The Gambler" is the title track to Kenny Rogers' 1978 album The Gambler which won him the Grammy award for best male country vocal performance in 1980.[1] Bobby Bare had recorded the song earlier that same year in his album BARE CBS KC35314 (1978). The song was written by Don Schlitz who had recorded it previously, and had charted at #65 on the country charts with it. It was one of five consecutive songs by Rogers to hit #1 on the Billboard country music charts.