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'd finished speakin' He turned back toward the window Crushed out his cigarette 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