[Verse 1]
I came by the claim at dusk
Where the boards were split and gray
Found a pick with a bent back handle
And a boot print in the clay
The shaft bell rang once on its own
Though the air was still and cold
And a lantern burned in the window
Where nobody lived, I’m told
[Pre-Chorus]
Then I heard that cough of gravel
Down below, deep in the seam
A man was working under earth
With a fist full of old-time greed
He said
[Chorus]
Gold in the dark, gold in the dark
(haunt that hole)
Gold in the dark, gold in the dark
(haunt that hole)
He’s still digging for his payday
With a dead man’s shattered spark
Gold in the dark, gold in the dark
(haunt that hole)
[Verse 2]
They say he struck a silver vein
And sold his soul for one more load
Tied his rope to a rusted bucket
And vanished in the mineshaft road
Now every moon, the hill goes hollow
Every stone starts dragging low
You can hear him count those nuggets
Like a prayer nobody knows
[Pre-Chorus]
And the dogs won’t cross the water
Near the black mouth in the hill
’Cause something with a miner’s hunger
Keeps on clawing after still
He said
[Chorus]
Gold in the dark, gold in the dark
(haunt that hole)
Gold in the dark, gold in the dark
(haunt that hole)
He’s still digging for his payday
With a dead man’s shattered spark
Gold in the dark, gold in the dark
(haunt that hole)
[Bridge]
I lit a match and heard him laughing
From a place the sun won’t touch
Saw his hands, all mud and yellow
Reached up through the broken crust
No blood on him, just old rope burn
No eyes, just coal and rage
He pointed down like I was next one
To be locked in that iron cage
[Final Chorus]
Gold in the dark, gold in the dark
(haunt that hole)
Gold in the dark, gold in the dark
(haunt that hole)
He’s still digging for his payday
Till the mountain swallows him whole
Gold in the dark, gold in the dark
(haunt that hole)
[Outro]
If you hear that pick strike midnight
Boy, don’t answer that sound
Leave the shine for the living
Or you’ll join him underground