On a warm summers evening, 
on a train bound for nowhere 
I met up with a gambler, 
we were both too tired to sleep 
So we took turns at staring 
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 reading people's faces 
And knowing 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 
 [bad word]  
You got to know when to hold 'em, 
know when to fold 'em 
Know when to walk away and know when [bad word] 
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 survive is 
Knowing what to throw away and knowing what to keep 
'Cos every hand's a winner and every hand's a loser 
And the best that you can hope for is that I end asleep 
And when he finished speakin', 
he turned back for the window 
 [bad word] out the cigarette, 
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 
 [bad word] repeats 3x

_________________________

Теплым летним вечерком Мчался поезд с ветерком
Мне с картежным игроком Ехать довелось
Мы смотрели с ним в окно Не спалось нам все равно
Стало скучно и темно И он произнес:

Я читал людей по взглядам, В нашем деле это надо
Узнавал я их расклады По движению век
Вижу, ты отличный малый, Я же повидал немало
Если хочешь, то, пожалуй, Дам тебе один совет

Знай, когда достать колоду,
А когда концы все в воду
Знай, когда уйти достойно
И когда сбежать

Не играй лишь ради денег,
Когда сдастся твой соперник,
Будет время, чтоб спокойно
Прибыль подсчитать