I crossed the sea, to make a different man of me
Gold on the range, like a siren called out my name
To make a claim, to make my name

Deep in the West, I will find my rest

And here I lay, a richer man this cloudless day
I found my gold, by unearthing such a wicked soul
The price of gold, for shining wealth my life was sold

Panning a ditch, struck it rich on Old Man Jethro’s land
Now he held cold steel to my skull, he won’t leave a hole for the shine in my hand

My finders fee:
Half to him the other half to me
(A booming no
From ol Jethro, no)

What claim had I? He asked
Not American, Not my homeland.
This sand was never even mine to pan.

Strange sight, box kite crashes between us, silencing our fight
A shadow on the path, approaching fast through the grass, we’re being watched
A Chinese dragon blazing down the path.

[-------------------------------------------------------------------------]

Grotesque dragon, crudely costumed danger, (anger)
Painted paper smile

Puppet husk hides the shape of the stranger
Ragged, dancing lies

It spins,
Waggling its chin
A circlin’ round
Our ground

It lifts the kite high
The box from cloudless sky
Descends

Onto Jethro’s head

It turns the painted sides

First side, an old man fighting low tides, the box turns
He drowns, washes up to his wife, the box turns
She burns his body dry, the box turns
Black, the box lifts back

Paper jaw flapped wide, and Jethro cried
He’s in its snare, he’s snatched my share, feeds it my trove

[-------------------------------------------------------------------------]

The thief turns tail, every nugget in its glutt’nous craw
I did not sail, cross the range on steer and wagon
To see my prize digested by a greedy chinese dragon

Hunted it down to a deserted mining town
I chased it down into a shaft deep, deep, deep underground
Where no soul lost could ever be found

Deep in the dark I found the dragon, standing quiet very still
Tore the flimsy puppet in half, to expose what’s underneath, but it’s empty, the host has left its shell

Like a scarecrow, a wooden beam is now its spine.
And in its mouth is everything that’s mine, the gold’s all mine, this mine is filled with golden shine

My finders fee: all the contents of the gold mine to me
But this mine will be my grave
Escape out these caves behind me has crumbled and caved,
The sabotage of the evil unnamed

And here I lay,
Back to the earth, back to the earth, my name unknown, and
Back to the earth, back to the earth, my story untold, and
Back to the dirt, back to the dirt, me and my gold, and
Deep in the West, deep down, deep down, deep down.