IWMs Song Of The Week: The Gambler

[InvisibleWolfMan]

This week I shift gears and give you a song that inspired a movie. Sadly, I can't get the original version of it on youtube but I found it here:

www.dailymotion.com/video/x1tock_kenny-rogers-the-gambler_music

Kenny Rogers - The Gambler

On a warm summers 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, Ive 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 dont 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
Ya 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

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 dealing's done

You got to know when to hold 'em (when to hold 'em)
Know when to fold 'em (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

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

[trashcanman]

Great pic. Anybody who doesn't know this song by heart is just wrong. Good pick.

[The Curmudgeon]

My dad used to play this song all the time, so much so that, like Trashy says, I know pretty much every word of it.

I dunno, though - I go away for a few weeks and all of a sudden we're talking about Kenny Rogers.