JUEVES - LYRICS ("The gambler – Kenny Rogers")

- The gambler – Kenny Rogers

On a warm summer's evening,

on a train bound for nowhere

I met up with a gambler.

We were both too tired to sleep

so we took turns a-starin'

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 readin' people's faces

and 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.

Said, "If you're gonna play the game, boy,

you gotta learn to play it right.

You 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 sittin' at the table.

There'll be time enough for countin'

when the dealing's done.

Every gambler knows

that 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 that 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 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 sittin' at the table.

There'll be time enough for countin'

when the dealing's done.

You've got to know when to hold 'em

(When to hold 'em)

know when to fold 'em

(When to fold 'em)

know when to walk away

and 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 dealing's done

You 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 sittin' at the table.

There'll be time enough for countin'

when the dealing's done.

- Notas: Kenny Rogers es el cantante, pero no el autor de la canción, que fue un tal Don Schlitz, que compuso esta canción pensando en su padre y en sus consejos sobre cómo afrontar la vida, la canción pues no trata sobre el póker sino sobre lecciones de vida usando el póker como metáfora.

La historia narrada en la canción es la del protagonista, un hombre que por alguna razón ha subido un tren con el que huye de una situación mala (de ahí lo de “train bound for nowhere” y “So if you don't mind my sayin' I can see you're out of aces.”) y coincide con un jugador de poker profesional que le da consejos sobre el juego del poker pero que son igualmente válidos para afrontar la vida. El principal, y que el protagonista acaba descubriendo que le ha dado la clave a sus problemas (de ahí lo de “in his final words I found an ace that I could keep”) es de “You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em,” que se refieren a las acciones de quedarse las cartas que te han dado (“to hold them”) o dejarlas sobre la mesa y plantarse en dicha partida (“to fold them”) que significa que en la vida hay que saber en qué situaciones insistir y jugársela, y cuales darlas por perdida y no insistir en algo que ocasionaría mayores pérdidas.

- 1. “…hold 'em, fold 'em …” = En ingles oral se enlaza la pronunciación de palabras continuas si el último sonido de la primera y el primero de la siguiente son iguales, así “hold them” se pronunciaría “holdem”, que a nivel gráfico se expresaría con el apostrofe (“hold’em”).

- 2. “…readin'…” = Más ingles oral coloquial, en ocasiones la “g” final de las formas “-ing” es tan débil que no se oye, y a nivel gráfico se expresa con el apóstrofe (“readin’” en lugar de “reading”).

- 3. “…gonna…” = Siguiendo con el inglés oral coloquial, a veces se contraen sonidos como “going to” dando lugar a “gonna”, que está bien que lo use un nativo pero en un estudiante de inglés queda como el culo, sería como un guiri hablando español sevillano.

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