| Moonlight Gambler | |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Frankie Laine |
| B-Side: | Lotus Land |
| Genre: | Pop |
| Label: | Columbia |
| Producer: | Mitch Miller |
| Prev Title: | On the Road to Mandalay |
| Prev Year: | 1956 |
| Next Title: | Love is a Golden Ring |
| Next Year: | 1957 |
"Moonlight Gambler" is a song written by Bob Hilliard and Phil Springer and performed by Frankie Laine featuring Ray Conniff and His Orchestra. It reached #3 on the U.S. pop chart and #13 on the UK Singles chart in 1957.[1]
The single ranked #32 on Billboard's Year-End top 50 singles of 1957.[2]
The song begins with a spoken recitation by Laine saying:
"You can gamble for matchsticks,/ You can gamble for Gold,/ The stakes may be heavy or small,/ But, if you haven't gambled for love and lost,/ Then you haven't gambled at all"/ Which is repeated when sung in the Bridge section of the song. Laine's version also features a whistler and a clip clopping sound.