The Gambler的故事

按很多作曲者的說法，有些歌出自幾分鐘的一個突發奇想而寫出，而別人也許要花很多天、數月或整年才能完成。

Kenny Rogers 1978 的暢銷曲The Gambler就是花一個下午的時間就完成的，作曲之一Don Schlitz說他當時正從Bob辦公室走回大概二英里距離遠的公寓，心中想著剛才Bob McDill用吉他彈的一個D和弦，回家後他坐在電腦前就寫了三首歌，The Gambler是其中之一，但還沒寫完。

Don Schlitz後來將這首歌完成還錄了樣帶，但是沒有人要錄它，他的出版商乾脆在The Crazy Momma和Capitol二家唱片公司推出Don唱的這首歌，其實大約同一時間，鄉村名歌星Conway Twitty's 的兒子 Charlie Tango和另一位歌手Hugh Moffatt都錄了這首歌，但Don Schlitz的成績最好，最高曾得到鄉村歌曲榜第65名。

有一回在Kenny Rogers的錄音檔期開工前一天，唱片製作人Larry Butler彈了The Gambler給Kenny Rogers聽，他們把這首歌做了一些修改，最後成了Kenny Rogers第15首鄉村歌曲冠軍曲。

Kenny Rogers的這首歌是在United Artists聯藝唱片推出的，1978年10月28日進榜，12月16日起獲得三週排行榜冠軍，這首歌在熱門歌曲榜則獲得第16名。

鄉村歌星Kenny Rogers出生於德州休士頓，暢銷曲極多，是歷年暢銷歌星排行榜第41名的巨星，也是1980年代最受歡迎的影歌双棲藝人。

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn481KcjvMo

 

The Gambler

Kenny Rogers

Songwriters: SCHLITZ, DON

 

On a warm summer's evenin', on a train bound for nowhere

I met up with the gambler.  We were both too tired to sleep.

So we took turns a-starin' out the window at the darkness.

When boredom overtook us, he began to speak.

 

He said, "Son, I've made a life out of readin' people's faces.

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 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, 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 dealin'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've got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em

Know when to walk away, 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 dealin's done.