The Gambler chords
by Kenny Rogers- The Gambler was written by Don Schlitzg - an American country music songwriter from Durham, North Carolina.
- Released: Nov 15, 1978 from the album of the same name.
- Keys: Eb Major with a key change to E Major
- Music: 4/4 time at 94 bpm
- Chords: Eb, Ab, Bb, Bb7 → E, A, B, B7
Chart Legend
Numbered Circles: Fingers used to play chords O: Optional Note
Barre Line: One finger holds down multiple strings R: Root Note
Unmarked strings: Play open X: Don't play string B: Bass Note
Barre Line: One finger holds down multiple strings R: Root Note
Unmarked strings: Play open X: Don't play string B: Bass Note
The Gambler
Song Key is highlighted - Transpose to any other key
Eb Ab Eb Ab
Intro: 4/4 ‖ | | | ‖
(On a)
Eb Ab Eb
1. On a warm sum-mer's ev-en-ing On a train bound for no-where
Bb
I met up with the gam-bler We were both too tired to sleep
Eb Ab Eb
So we took turns a staring At the dark-ness at the win-dow
Ab Eb Bb Eb
Till bore-dom over-took us And he began to speak
Eb Ab Eb
2. He said Son I've made a life Out of read-ing peo-ple's fa-ces
Bb
And know-ing what their cards were By the way they held their eyes
Eb Ab Eb
And if you don't mind my say-in' I can see you're out of a-ces
Ab Eb Bb Eb
For a taste of your whis-key I'll give you some ad-vice | 𝄎 |
Eb Ab Eb
3. So I han-ded him my bot-tle And he drank down my last swal-low
B
Then he bummed a ci-gar-ette And asked me for a light
Eb Ab Eb
And the night got death-ly quiet And his face lost all ex-pres-sion
Ab Eb Bb Eb
Said if you're gon-na play the game boy Ya got-ta learn to play it right
Eb Ab Eb
Chorus: You got to know when to hold 'em Know when to fold 'em
Ab Eb Bb
Know when to walk a-way And know when to run
Eb Ab Eb
You ne-ver count your mo-ney When you're sit-ting at the ta-ble
Ab Eb Bb7 Eb
There'll be time e-nough for count-ing When the deal-ings done | 𝄎 | 𝄎 | 𝄎 |
(key change)
E A E
3. Ev-'ry gam-bler knows That the se-cret to sur-viv-ing
B7
Is know-ing what to throw a-way And know-ing what to keep
E A E
Cause ev-'ry hand's a win-ner and ev-'ry hand's a lo-ser
A E B7 E
And the best that you can hope for Is to die in your sleep
E A E
4. And when he'd fi-nished speak-in' He turned back to-ward the win-dow
B7
Crushed out his ci-ga-rette And fa-ded off to sleep
E A E
And some-where in the dark-ness The gam-bler he broke e-ven
A E B7 E
But in his fi-nal words I found an ace that I could keep
E A E
Chorus: You got to know when to hold 'em Know when to fold 'em
A E B
Know when to walk a-way And know when to run
E A E
You ne-ver count your mo-ney When you're sit-ting at the ta-ble
A E B7 E
There'll be time e-nough for count-ing When the deal-ings done
E A E
Chorus: You got to know when to hold 'em Know when to fold 'em
A E B
Know when to walk a-way And know when to run
E A E
You ne-ver count your mo-ney When you're sit-ting at the ta-ble
A E B7 E
There'll be time e-nough for count-ing When the deal-ings done
E A E
Chorus: You got to know when to hold 'em Know when to fold 'em
A E B
Know when to walk a-way And know when to run
E A E
You ne-ver count your mo-ney When you're sit-ting at the ta-ble
A E B7 E
There'll be time e-nough for count-ing When the deal-ings done
- Beginners: If you haven't learned barre chords yet, you will find this difficult to play. An easier alternative is to play in B Major with a key change to C Major. Both keys can be played with open chords including B, F# and F#7.
- An easy way to play F# is to play an open F chord starting on the 2nd fret instead of the first fret - xx4322. For F#7, simply take the first finger off the 1st string (2nd fret) exposing Top E... xx4320.
- Capo on the 4th fret if you want to play along with the video.
Kenny Rogers
Born: Kenneth Ray Rogers on Aug 21, 1938 in Houston, Texas, USA.
Died: March 20, 2020 (aged 81) in Sandy Springs, Georgia, USA.
Profession: singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, and entrepreneur
Music Style: Country, pop, adult contemporary, soft rock, rock, jazz
Instruments: Vocals, guitar, bass guitar, harmonica, fiddle
Active Years: 1958 - present
