Kenny Rogers - The Gambler (2007) by Kenny Rogers (보컬) on maniadb.com

On a warm summer's evenin'
On a train bound for nowhere
I met up with the gambler
We were both too tired to sleep
So we took turns a-starin'
Out the window at the darkness
When boredom overtook us
He began to speak

He said, "Son, I've made my life
Out of readin' people's 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
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
He said, "If
You're gonna play the game, boy
You gotta learn to play it right"

You've got to know
When to hold 'em
Know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away
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

Now every gambler knows
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 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've got to know
When to hold 'em
Know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away
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

You've got to know
When to hold 'em
Know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away
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

Oh, I wish that I could hurt that way again
At least I had you every now and then
And in between the sorrow
At least there was tomorrow
And as long as there's tomorrow
There's no end
Oh, I wish that I could hurt that way again.

Oh, I wish that we could play that game again
Even though I'd always lose and you would win
At times you would desert me
The emptiness would hurt me
But your coming back
Was always worth the pain
Oh, I wish that I could hurt that way again.

I'd love to hear you tell me
You don't need me anymore
Just like you used to tell me everyday
I'd love to watch you leaving
Like the hundred times before
At least my eyes could see you walk away.

Oh, I wish that we could play that game again
Even though I'd always lose and you would win
At times you would desert me
The emptiness would hurt me
But your coming back
Was always worth the pain
Oh, I wish that I could hurt that way again...

Like a leaf caught in the wind he drifted a while
With no purpose or direction too his life
He tried to get himself together and pacify his mind
And forget about the things he left behind.

The cryin' woman standing helpless in his door
With a two month old baby in her arms
His little black book laying torn up on the floor
And God only knows he never meant to do her wrong.

A careless weekend on the other side of town
Has torn the king of Oak Street's Castle down
And all week long he's tried to call her but she won't let him explain
Now Sunday morning finds him walking in the rain.

He sits down in a phone booth and he prays
That she'll forgive him and she'll believe he's changed his ways
With shaking hand he deposits his last dime
And he's still praying that she won't hang up this time.

Then the sweetest voice he's ever heard says hello
Breakfast's almost ready baby, come on home
I've thought the whole thing over and I think I understand
That the king of Oak Street is just an ordinary man.

I've thought the whole thing over and I think I understand
That the king of Oak Street is just an ordinary man...

While she lays sleeping, I stay out late at night and play my songs
And sometimes all the nights can be so long
And it's good when I finally make it home, all alone
While she lays dreaming, I try to get undressed without the light
And quietly she says how was your night?
And I come to her and say, it was all right, and I hold her tight

And she believes in me, I'll never know just what she sees in me
I told her someday if she was my girl, I could change the world
With my little songs, I was wrong
But she has faith in me, and so I go on trying faithfully
And who knows maybe on some special night, if my song is right
I will find a way, find a way...

While she lays waiting, I stumble to the kitchen for a bite
Then I see my old guitar in the night
Just waiting for me like a secret friend, and there's no end
While she lays crying, I fumble with a melody or two
And I'm torn between the things that I should do
And she says to wake her up when I am through,
God her love is true...

And she believes in me, I'll never know just what she sees in me
I told her someday if she was my girl, I could change the world
With my little songs, I was wrong
But she has faith in me, and so I go on trying faithfully
And who knows maybe on some special night, if my song is right
I will find a way, while she waits... while she waits for me for me!

I broke the law and I used a gun
I broke the Ten Commandments one by one
I always wished that I had a son
Just to teach him not to

I lived in the valley and I hid in the hills
I stole moonshine from illegal stills
Folks said "Don't rile him 'cause he may kill"
But only if I've got to

All I want is a Tennessee bottle
All I need is an Arkansas bride
All I can see is an Ozark mountain sunrise
And 500 miles to hide my life, life, life, to hide my life
To hide my life

I tried to farm and I tried to mine
I tried cuttin' on the timberline
But pain and sweat was all I'd find
Rewarding all my labor

So I robbed banks and I robbed trains
I lost one eye in a poker game
I gave up gambling 'cause it's such a shame
To cheat your friends and neighbors

All I want is a Tennessee bottle
All I need is an Arkansas bride
All I can see is an Ozark mountain sunrise
And 500 miles to hide my life, life, life, to hide my life
To hide my life

I think I'm gonna quit and change my ways
Settle down and live an honest day
Someone said that crime don't pay
But I gotta 'nuff to live on

I think I'm gonna move to Little Rock
Leave my doors without a lock
I might be a foot without a sock
But I got cash to stand on

All I want is a Tennessee bottle
All I need is an Arkansas bride
All I can see is an Ozark mountain sunrise
And 500 miles to hide my life, life, life, to hide my life
To hide my life

The sandman told me he's done all he can
The situation calls for more than sand
You've been crying all night long
Tossing and turning and it's almost done.

I am here, I'm gonna help you sleep
Count on me instead of counting sheet
Close your eyes and leave the rest to me.

And you'll have sweet dreams at the last of night
And easy feeling and a morning light
Drift away with a touch of the hand
From the sleep tight, goodnight man.

Soft and sooth and as a lullaby
I'll kiss your tears from those weary eyes
And in the morning you will understand
That you've been touched by the goodnight man.

I'll rock you gently like a rolling wave
Hold you in my arms until you drift away
So just lay back and leave the rest to me.

And you'll have sweet dreams at the last of night
And easy feeling and a morning light
Drift away with a touch of the hand
From the sleep tight, goodnight man.

His daddy was an honest man, red dirt Georgia farmer
His mamma lived her short life having kids and baling hay
He had fifteen years, an ache inside to wander
He hopped a freight in Waycross, wound up in L.A.
Lord the cold nights had no pity on a Waycross Georgia farmboy
Most days he went hungry, then the summer came
He met a girl known on the strip as San Francisco's Mabel Joy
Destitutions child born of an L.A. street called shame
Growing up came quietly in the arms of Mabel Joy
Laughter found their mornings, brought a meaning to his life
Yes, the night before she left, sleep came and left that Waycross country boy with dreams of Georgia cotton and a California wife
Sunday morning found him standing 'neath the red light of her door
When a right cross sent him reeling, put him face down on the floor
In place of Mabel Joy he found a merchant mad merine, he growled that Georgia neck is red, but sonny your still green
He turned twenty-one in a gray rock federal prison
The old judge had no mercy for a Waycross Georgia boy
Starin' at those four gray, in silence he would listen
That midnight freight he knew would take him back to Mabel Joy
Sunday morning found him lyin' 'neath the red light of her door
With a bullet in his side he cried have you seen Mabel Joy
Stunned and shaken someone said she's not here no more
She left this house four years today
They say she's looking for some Georgia farm boy