Chords for Clawhammer Banjo - Song (and Tab) of the Week: "The Gambler"

[Eb] _ _ _ On a warm summer's evening, on [Ab] a train bound for [Eb] nowhere, I met up with a gambler.
We were both [Bb] too tired to sleep, [Eb] so we took turns staring.
We knew at the darkness, _ boredom overtook us, and he began to speak.
_ He said, son, I've made a life, not of reading people's faces,
knowing what the cards were by [Bb] the way they held their eyes.
[Eb] So if you'll come out and see him, [Ab] I can see [Eb] you're out of aces,
for a taste of your whiskey, [Bb] I'll give you [Eb] some advice. _
So I handed him my bottle, and he drank down my last swallow.
Then he bumped a cigarette and asked me for [Bb] a light,
[Eb] and the night got deathly quiet.
[Ab] His face lost all [Eb] expression, [Cm] said if you're gonna [Eb] play the game boy,
[Bb] you gotta learn [Eb] to play it right.
You got to know when to hold on, [Ab] know [Eb] when to fold up, _ know when to walk away,
know when to run if you count your money.
While you're sitting at the table, there'll be time enough counting,
when the dealing's done.
_ _ _ _ _ _ [Ab] _ _
[Eb] _ _ [Ab] _ _ [Eb] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [Ab] _ _
[Eb] _ _ [Ab] _ _ [Eb] _ _ [Bb] _ _
[Eb] _ _ _ _ Every gamble knows [Ab] that the secret [Eb] to surviving is knowing what to throw away,
knowing [Bb] what _ [Eb] every hand's a winner, and every hand's a loser,
[Ab] and the best that you [Eb] can hope for [Bb] is to die [Eb] in your sleep,
and when he heard you speaking, he turned back toward the window,
crushed out his cigarette, and faded off to sleep, and somewhere in the darkness,
a gambler he broke even, [Ab] but in his [Eb] final words I found a case that I could keep.
You got to know when to hold on, [Ab] know [Eb] when to fold up, [Ab] [Eb] know when to walk away,
know when to run if you count your money.
[Ab] While you're sitting [Eb] at the table, there'll be time enough counting,
when the dealing's done. _ _ _ _
[Ab] _ _ [Eb] _ _ [Ab] _ _ [Eb] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[Ab] _ _ [Eb] _ _ [Ab] _ [Eb] _ _ _
_ _ You got to know when to hold on, [Ab] [Eb] know when to fold up, [Ab] know [Eb] when to walk away,
know when to run if you count your money.
[Ab] While you're sitting at [Eb] the table, there'll be time enough counting, _
[Bb] [Eb] when the dealing's done. _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [G] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [N] _