The gambler　　Kenny Rogers

The gambler　　Kenny Rogers
(Don Schlitz)

On a warm summer's eve
On a train bound for nowhere
I met up with the gambler
We were both too tired to sleep
So we took turns a-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
Knowing what the cards were
By the way they held their eyes
So if you don't mind me saying
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 faced 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 and know when to run
You never count your money when you're sitting at the table
There'll be time enough for counting when the dealing's done

Every gambler knows that the secret to surviving
Is knowing what to throw away and knowing 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 speaking
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 (*)

賭徒　　肯尼羅傑斯

一個溫暖的夏日黃昏
一列沒有目的地的火車上
我遇見了一個賭徒
我們倆都很累卻睡不著
於是我們在黑暗中輪流注視窗外
就在百無聊賴之際
他開口說話了

他說：
「孩子，我藉由閱人無數活了一輩子
　我清楚他們手上的牌
　從他們克制的眼神
　如果你不介意我說出來的話
　我可以看出來你已經沒有王牌了
　只要給我喝一口威士忌
　我就給你一些忠告」

於是我把酒瓶給他
他喝掉了最後一口酒
然後他要了一根菸
又請我幫他點燃
夜晚一片死寂
他的臉上毫無表情
他說：如果你想賭，孩子
就要學對玩牌的方法

你必須知道何時該保留、何時該放棄？
知道何時該走開、何時該逃跑？
只要你還坐在賭桌，絕對不要在桌面上數錢
只要交易結束，時間絕對夠你數鈔票

每個賭徒都知道活下去的秘密
就是清楚該割捨什麼、保留什麼？
因為每一把都是贏家，也都是輸家
你能期盼的最棒的事就是壽終正寢

當他結束談話
他轉身面向窗戶
按熄了香煙，沉沉入睡
在這片黑暗中
這位賭徒不賺不賠
但是在他最後幾句話裡
我找到了一張永久保用的王牌