We took turns a-starin'...
out the window at the Darkness,
'til boredom overtook us,
and he began to speak.
He said:

"Son, I've made a life
out of readin' peoples faces,
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, boy,
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 got to learn to play it right"

Everybody! :

"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 dealin's done."

"Every gambler knows,
that the secret to survivin'
is knowin' what to throw away
and knowing what to keep.
Cuz 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 towards the window,
crushed out his cigarette and faded off to sleep.
And somewhere in the Darkness
the Gambler -- he broke even!
Cuz in his final words I found
an Ace that I could keep...

----------------------

~ Kenny.