[Verse 1] Red sun hangin’ on the canyon lip Boot tracks cut through the dry creek bed They say up there’s a river of chips Every one of ’em bought in blood instead Wind talkin’ through the yucca stalks Old claims nailed to dead mesquite I heard a name in the gravel and rocks Like a pick on bone at my feet [Chorus] They call it the curse of Coyote Ridge Where the gold shines sick and cold You can cross that line, you can cross that bridge But you’ll pay your weight in soul Oh, I followed that whisper down Til the stars went black and hid Now I’m hearin’ chains in the hollow ground That curse of Coyote Ridge [Verse 2] He stepped out of the sagebrush smoke (hey) Hat brim burned, eyes like coal Said, “Son, that map’s an old bad joke I dug that vein ’til it dug my hole” Showed me fingers, cracked and black Dust clingin’ where skin should be “Every nugget I hauled from that crack Crawled back at night to bury me” [Chorus] They call it the curse of Coyote Ridge Where the gold shines sick and cold You can cross that line, you can cross that bridge But you’ll pay your weight in soul Oh, I followed that whisper down Til the stars went black and hid Now I’m hearin’ chains in the hollow ground That curse of Coyote Ridge [Bridge] He said, “I struck it rich, rich as a king But my boys grew wild, my woman drank flame Cards took the house, fever took the ring One by one, the crosses took their names” “Still I swung that pick, still I dug that seam Greed runs deep as a river in spring Now my claim is a hole in a bad man’s dream And my shackles are the shine of a thing” (woah) [Verse 3] I laughed once, just to taste my fear Held that map to the lantern glow Lines matched up like a cracked old mirror Showin’ every scar I know Dropped it there in the midnight sand Watched the fire eat every road But when I turned, felt a bony hand Press my palm ’round phantom gold [Chorus] They call it the curse of Coyote Ridge Where the gold shines sick and cold You can cross that line, you can cross that bridge But you’ll pay your weight in soul Now I’m walkin’ circles in this dust Hear him hummin’ through the ridges and the rid Every heartbeat poundin’ like a rusted pump To the curse of Coyote Ridge [Outro] Red sun gone, just a gunmetal sky Two shadows on the canyon wall One man leavin’, one can’t die And that mine keeps callin’, callin’, callin’ (callin’)

country, Dusty dark-country ballad with male vocals, twangy baritone guitar, and a slow, stalking shuffle. Low, tremolo-soaked leads weave around a brushed snare and distant toms. Verses stay hushed and intimate; chorus rises with gravelly harmonies and a thick, pulsing bass. Add a ghostly lap steel that swells on key phrases, and a final stripped-down outro on just vocal and guitar.

Curse of Coyote Ridge