The Investor

'On a warm summer's evenin' on a train bound for Northampton,
I met up with the investor; we were both too tired to sleep.
So we took turns a starin' out the window at the darkness
'Til boredom overtook us, and he began to speak.

He said, "Son, I've made my life out of readin' people's faces,
And knowin' what their 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, ya gotta learn to play it right.

You got to know when to buy 'em, know when to sell '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 due diligence is done

Now Ev'ry investor knows that the secret to survivin'
Is knowin' what to sell away and knowing what to buy.
'Cause ev'ry hand's a winner and ev'ry hand's a loser,
And the best that you can hope for is to have hard assets before
Russia invades the Ukraine’

So when he'd finished speakin', he turned back towards the window,
Crushed out his cigarette ate his Smaltz herring and faded off to sleep.
And somewhere in the darkness the investor, he broke even.
But in his final words I found an ace that I could keep.

You got to know when to buy 'em, know when to sell '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 due diligence is done.'