[Verse 1]
D# G# D#
On a warm summer's evenin' on a train bound for nowhere,
D# A#
I met up with the gambler; we were both too tired to sleep.
D# G# D#
So we took turns a starin' out the window at the darkness
A# D#
'til boredom overtook us, and he began to speak.
[Verse 2 (Bass in)]
D# G# 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#
And if you don't mind my sayin', I can see you're out of aces.
G# D# A# D#
For a taste of your whiskey I'll give you some advice."
[Verse 3 (strumming starts)]
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#
Said, "If you're gonna play the game,
A# D#
boy, ya gotta learn to play it right.
[Chorus]
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# G# D# G# D#
You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table.
D# G# D# A# D#
There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done.
[Verse 4 (Key change)]
E A E
Ev'ry gambler knows that the secret to survivin'
B
is knowin' what to throw away and knowing what to keep.
E A E
'Cause ev'ry hand's a winner and ev'ry hand's a loser,
A E B E
and the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep."
[Verse 5]
E A E
And when he'd finished speakin', he turned back towards the window,
B
crushed out his cigarette and faded off to sleep.
E A E
And somewhere in the darkness the gambler, he broke even.
A E B E
But in his final words I found an ace that I could keep.
[Chorus]
E A E
You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em,
A E B
know when to walk away and know when to run.
E A E A E
You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table.
E A E B E
There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done.
[Chorus a cappella]
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# G# D# G# D#
You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table.
D# G# D# A# D#
There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done.
[Chorus]
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# G# D# G# D#
You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table.
D# G# D# A# D#
There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done.
[Verse 1]
D# On a warm summer's evenin'
G# D#
on a train bound for nowhere,
D# I met up with the gambler; we
A#
were both too tired to sleep.
D# So we took turns a starin'
G# D#
out the window at the darkness
'til boredom overtook
A# D#
us, and he began to speak.
[Verse 2 (Bass in)]
D# He said, "Son, I've made a life
G# D#
out of readin' people's faces,
and knowin' what their cards were
A#
by the way they held their eyes.
D# And if you don't mind my sayin',
G# D#
I can see you're out of aces.
G# D# For a taste of your whiskey
A# D#
I'll give you some advice."
[Verse 3 (strumming starts)]
D# So I handed him my bottle and
G# D#
he drank down my last swallow.
Then he bummed a cigarette
A#
and asked me for a light.
D# And the night got deathly quiet,
G# D#
and his face lost all expression.
Said, "If you're
G# D#
gonna play the game,
A# boy, ya gotta learn
D#
to play it right.
[Chorus]
D# You got to know when to hold
G# D#
'em, know when to fold 'em,
G# D# know when to walk away
A#
and know when to run.
D# G# D# You never count your money when
G# D#
you're sittin' at the table.
D# G# There'll be time enough for
D# A# D#
countin' when the dealin's done.
[Verse 4 (Key change)]
E Ev'ry gambler knows that
A E
the secret to survivin'
is knowin' what to throw away
B
and knowing what to keep.
E 'Cause ev'ry hand's a winner
A E
and ev'ry hand's a loser,
A E and the best that you can hope
B E
for is to die in your sleep."
[Verse 5]
E And when he'd finished speakin',
A E
he turned back towards the window,
crushed out his cigarette
B
and faded off to sleep.
E And somewhere in the darkness
A E
the gambler, he broke even.
A E But in his final words I found
B E
an ace that I could keep.
[Chorus]
E You got to know when to hold
A E
'em, know when to fold 'em,
A E know when to walk away
B
and know when to run.
E A E You never count your money when
A E
you're sittin' at the table.
E A There'll be time enough for
E B E
countin' when the dealin's done.
[Chorus a cappella]
D# You got to know when to hold
G# D#
'em, know when to fold 'em,
G# D# know when to walk away
A#
and know when to run.
D# G# D# You never count your money when
G# D#
you're sittin' at the table.
D# G# There'll be time enough for
D# A# D#
countin' when the dealin's done.
[Chorus]
D# You got to know when to hold
G# D#
'em, know when to fold 'em,
G# D# know when to walk away
A#
and know when to run.
D# G# D# You never count your money when
G# D#
you're sittin' at the table.
D# G# There'll be time enough for
D# A# D#
countin' when the dealin's done.