Bobby Bare – The Gambler (Guitar)

D                                 G               D
On the warm summer's evening on a train bound for nowhere

                                                  A
I met up with a 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
Till boredom overtook us and he commenced to speak.

D                                  G                D
He said, "Son I made a life out of readin' people's faces

                                                           A
And knowin' what the cards were by the way they held their eyes

      D                               G                 D
So 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 would give you some advice."

D                                G                  D
So I handed him my bottle and he drank down my last swallow

                                              A
Then he'd bummed a cigarette then he bummed a light

        D                               G               D
And the night got deathly quiet and his face lost all expression

                 G              D                  A                D
He said, "If you gonna play the game boy you gotta learn to play it right."

D                                           G       D
"You, you gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em

G            D                       A
Know when to walk away, know when to run

    D     G          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' is done."

D                             G            D
"Every gambler knows that the secret to survival

                                                  A
Is knowin' what to throw away and knowin' what to keep

       D                               G              D
'Cause every hand's a winner just like every hand's a loser

                                         A           D
And the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep."

D                            G                      D
When he finished speaking he turned back toward the window

                                        A
Crushed out his cigarette, faded off to sleep

D                         G                    D
Somewhere in the darkness the gambler he broke even

       G     D                A                D
In his final words I found an ace that I could keep.

D                                          G       D
You, you gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em

G            D                       A
Know when to walk away, know when to run

    D     G          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' is done.

                                     A
Know when to walk away, know when to run

    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' is done.

                  G         D                 A          D
There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin' is done...