Kenny Rogers Lyrics Play "The Gambler" on Amazon Music Unlimited (ad) "The Gambler" On a warm summer's evening On a train bound for nowhere I met up with a gambler We were both too tired to sleep So we took turns a-starin' Out the window at the darkness The boredom overtook us And he began to speak He said, "Son, I've made a life Out of readin' people's faces And knowin' what the 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, 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. Every gambler knows That the secret to survivin' Is knowin' what to throw away And knowin' 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." And when he finished speakin' He turned back toward the window Crushed out his cigarette And faded off to sleep And somewhere in the darkness The gambler he broke even And 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've 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 Who can answer the Why did the kenny Roger's song a favorite among traders become a favorite to be played at funerals.
Most likely it is in this part of the stanza... "'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." And when he finished speakin' He turned back toward the window Crushed out his cigarette And faded off to sleep And somewhere in the darkness The gambler he broke even And in his final words I found an ace that I could keep." So the traveler who met the gambler realized that no matter what happens in life, you have one last play when you die. And that is to find peace, like the gambler did when he died.
Seriously? Playing that song at their funerals? These people should have tried to have lives before they lost them.
Music to die (or not) by might be better. This came up in a very macho chat early this morning on zoom, well before the conversation turned to Croatians eating dormice.