Johnny Cash - The Gambler: Guitar Chords

  A                               D              A
On a warm summer's evening on a train bound for nowhere
   A                                                 E
I met up with a gambler, we were both too tired to speak
    A                               D             A
So we took turns a-starin' out the window at the darkness
             D    A              E7        A
'Til 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 their cards were by the way they held their eyes
And if you don't mind my saying I would say you're out of aces
And for one taste of your whiskey I will give you some advice

So I handed him my bottle and he drank down my last swallow
Then he bummed a cigarette then he bummed a light
The night got deathly quiet and his face lost all expression
He said, If you're going to play the game,
boy, you better learn to play it right

Because every gambler knows that the secret to survival
Is knowing what to throw away and knowing what to keep
And every hand's a winner just like every hand's a loser
And the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep

Chorus:
             A                    D             A
You got to know when to hold 'em, Know when to fold 'em,
D             A                          E
Know when to walk away And know when to run.
     A                                  D              A
You never count your money When you're sittin' at the table;
                 D           A                 E        A
There'll be time enough for countin' When the dealin's done. - x2

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,
But in his final words I found an ace that I could keep.

Chorus - x3