El Dorado

I'm Gold Rush Kate from the Golden State With a nugget around my neck I keep the red lights burning bright from here to Hell and back I've dug for silver and for gold from Boulder up to Haines When I hit Coloma, boys, I made my final claim Crossed the High Sierras in the spring of '48 And every man with a shovel and pan Has stumbled through my gates Behind these doors, whiskey pours and lovin' flows like wine Miners boast of mother lodes they'll dig or else die trying El Dorado, woo-hoo-hoo They come from far and wide to quell the fever in their souls It haunts their brain, they've gone insane For the glimmer of the gold The devil must have drug 'em here down a one-way path 'Cause when you hit Coloma, boys, you never make it back There's Redwood Bill, he can drink his fill And so can John the Rover Bad Luck Dave is in his grave, his gold dust days are over They fill their pans with blood and sand and call to God upstairs But in the golden country, boys, the Lord don't hear your prayers El Dorado, woo-hoo-hoo Cross yourself on Hangman's Hill if you run into Reno Maria When the sky is dark, she can read the stars From Mars to Cassiopeia She comes around when the sun comes down with fortunes to be told For a copper penny, she'll tell you plenty, 'cept where to find the gold Stay away from Snake Oil Jake, he'll fool you with a fountain pen One look in his eyes, you'll be hypnotized, he's got that slight of hand He's sleek and fat like an old tom cat, they say he has nine lives Snake Oil Jake sure met his fate when they shot him down ten times Don't stake your claim with the Dogtown Gang Or the boys from Rough and Ready Don't thumb your nose at the Sydney Cove 'Cause the hammer comes down heavy On every jack who tries to hack his way to fortune fair And comes to find he's last in line to be a millionaire El Dorado, woo-hoo-hoo El Dorado, city of gold, city of fools Heard the news from Siskiyou, the rush is moving on Leaving old Coloma boys and bound for Oregon Here in town the tailing piles have all gone to rust One day you boom, but pretty soon Your booming days are bust So now I sweep the empty streets and boarded up saloon Seen 'em fade from golden days to ghost towns left to ruin Was it worth the blood and dirt to dig our lives away But life goes quick, so come get rich in Californ-I-A El Dorado, woo-hoo-hoo El Dorado, city of gold, city of fools Has the fever got a hold on you? I've seen it, all the rise and fall, and now I take my rest I'm Gold Rush Kate from the Golden State And I'm the last one left