California Bound

[Verse 1]
Left a note on the table
Just a thumbprint and my name
Sold my coat for a wagon seat
Chasing whispers of a golden vein
Dust in my teeth
Map in my mind
Sun at my back as the church bells chimed
[Chorus]
California bound
With a shovel and a worn-out vow
Gonna dig this hope
Right out of the ground somehow
Dreaming that the river
Rolls like a miracle down
’Til it fills my empty pockets
I’m California bound
[Verse 2]
Campfire coffee
Bitter and black
Counting blisters on my hands
Every mile another “maybe”
Every rumor another plan
Pan in the stream
Eyes on the sand
Praying that it gleams when I lift my hand
[Chorus]
California bound
With a shovel and a worn-out vow
Gonna dig this hope
Right out of the ground somehow
Dreaming that the river
Rolls like a miracle down
’Til it fills my empty pockets
I’m California bound
[Bridge]
If it’s fool’s gold
I’ll still stay
I’ve already given my old life away
’Cause a man is rich
When he chooses his road
And mine runs west
On a promise of gold
[Chorus]
California bound
With a shovel and a worn-out vow
Gonna dig this hope
Right out of the ground somehow
Dreaming that the river
Rolls like a miracle down
’Til it fills my empty pockets
I’m California bound
Yeah
’til it fills my empty pockets
I’m California bound

Dusty folk-country ballad with warm acoustic guitars, upright bass, and brushed snare. Male vocals up close and storytelling; gentle mouth harp fills the gaps. Chorus swells with stacked harmonies and a distant fiddle, energy rising like a campfire singalong then easing back to an intimate verse.