On a warm summers evening,
on a train bound to nowhere
I met up with a gambler,
we were both too tired to sleep.
So we took turns starin'
out the window at the darkness,
Boredom over took us
and he began to speak.
He said, son I've made a life
out of reading 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,
Said, if you're gonna play the game boy,
you gotta learn to play it right.
You got to know when to hold 'em,
know when to fold 'em.
and when to walk away,
and 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.
Ev'ry gambler knows that the
secret to survivin',
Is knowin' what to throw away
and knowin' what to keep.
'Cos ev'ry hands a winner,
and ev'ry hands a loser.
And the best you can hope for,
is to die in your sleep.
And 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 to keep.
You got to know when to hold 'em,
know when to fold 'em,
know when to walk away,
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,
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,
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.
when the dealin's done.