Stephen Sondheim - The Game lyrics

[POKER PLAYERS 1-3] Gold... [POKER PLAYER 1] Got us a beginner, boys– [POKER PLAYERS 1-3] Gold... [POKER PLAYER 1] Fresh off the ground [POKER PLAYERS 1-3] Gold! Gold! [POKER PLAYER 1] This one is a winner, boys– [POKER PLAYER 3] Pluck it from a mountain Or pluck it from a hick– [POKER PLAYER 2] When you see a chance, you pluck it Off of someone who has struck it– [POKER PLAYER 3] You don't have to have a bucket Or a shovel or a pick– [POKER PLAYER 1] All you really need is luck or An accommodating s**er Who imagines that he's slick– [POKER PLAYERS 1-3] And who doesn't know he's thick– [POKER PLAYER 1] And it– (spoken) –looks like you've been roughing it out there for quite some time, fella (Poker player 1 brandishes cards.) Why don't you take a load off and relax? [WILSON, spoken] Poker? Oh, no thanks. I play a little rummy sometimes, that's about it. Besides, my brother's waiting for me– [POKER PLAYER 1, spoken] The game is five-card stud. One-eyed jacks and deuces wild (Back at the claim, Addison is swinging a pickax.) [COMPANY] Gold! [ADDISON] Grab the opportunity... [COMPANY] Gold! [ADDISON] Two musketeers... [COMPANY] Gold! [ADDISON] Part of a community Of pioneers! "Oh, come on, Addie The two of us together What fun!"– Fun... I'm straining every sinew Getting blisters and continually– (Addison sneezes.) Sneezing Wolves are howling and it's freezing Where's the goddamn gold?! This is really silly–gold! And where the hell is Willie? (He hits a rock with his pickax.) (spoken) Ow! (sung) Maybe this is not the road, Papa Maybe not the road for me Maybe it's for Willie – Yes, I know I'm being silly But it isn't what I want I don't think it's what I want At the moment all I want Is Willie... [WILSON, spoken] Addie! [ADDISON, spoken] (Addison grins, draws Wilson aside, producing a large nugget.) Gold, we found it, Willie! It's all ours! All we have to do is dig it up! [WILSON, spoken] Jesus, would you look at that? Boys, this is my brother Addison and he just dug up this nugget in the middle of this claim. Now we can argue about what they're worth, or I can see your three thousand– (Wilson brandishes the nugget.) And raise you, say, five hundred– (Wilson brandishes the claim.) [ADDISON, spoken] Would you excuse us for a minute? Just one minute... (Addison draws Wilson aside) Willie, what are you doing? Betting the claim?! [WILSON, spoken] How long is it going to take us to dig that gold out of the ground? Three months? Three years? I can dig it out of that guy's pocket in three seconds! [ADDISON, spoken] Willie! [WILSON] Never let a chance go by, Addie Isn't that what Papa meant? Now and then you miss one But I guarantee you this one Is a winner I'm no longer a beginner! Addie, take the chance Or it disappears! Every card you're dealt opens new frontiers– Let's be pioneers! [ADDISON, spoken] Willie, that claim could be forth a fortune! Why would we gamble it?! [WILSON, spoken] Why wouldn't we? (sung) The whole thing's nothing more than just a game And, Addie, what I'm good at is the game They said, "Come on in, s**er!" Now they're sorry that I came I tell you, kid, there's nothing like the game Better than girls Better than booze Beating ace high With a pair of twos Better than snowdrifts In your shoes Even if Now and then you lose– [ADDISON, spoken] Exactly! [WILSON] The thing that really matters is the game It's more than just the winning, it's the game That moment when the card is turned And nothing is the same– The only thing that matters is the game Better than smokes Better than snuff Hooking a s**er Just enough Betting your bundle On a bluff– Jesus, what a moment! It's more than just the money that's at stake That's nice, but it's just icing on the cake It's your life Every pot Who you are Not what you've got Compared to that, the world seems pretty tame The thing that really matters is the game What do you think Papa would say? "Boys," he'd say "Seize the goddamn day! This is your chance–" [ADDISON] All right, okay! (Wilson makes the bet, reveals his hand. The Poker Players throw down their cards in a frustrated rage.) [ADDISON, spoken] What happened? [POKER PLAYER 1, spoken] Heart flush [POKER PLAYER 1-3, spoken] Your buddy won [WILSON, spoken] Ten thousand dollars! [ADDISON, spoken] And the claim. Time to go back and work the claim [WILSON, spoken] Claim's gone. I swapped it for the saloon! [ADDISON, spoken] You swapped it what? [WILSON, spoken] For the saloon! Hey, I said we were in business! Sure, the place looks like a dump now. But I'm thinking we'll put in a little stage for dancing girls. Maybe a roulette wheel– [ADDISON, spoken] Gimme the money [WILSON, spoken] What? [ADDISON, spoken] Gimme the money! (Addison snatches roughly half the cash and heads off.) [WILSON, spoken] Where are you going? [ADDISON, spoken] Away from you!