Oh the wind blows cold on the trail of the buffalo
Oh the wind blows cold in the land of the Navajo
In the land of the Navajo

Well a hundred miles from nowhere out on the desert sand
One-Eyed Jack the trader held some turquoise in his hand
By his side sat Running Elk his longtime Indian friend
He vowed that he would stay by Jack until the bitter end

Jack had gambled everything he owned to leave this wandering life
He might have had a happy home or a tender loving wife
But his hunger was for trading trapper’s furs for turquoise stones
Anything that the Indians had Jack wanted for his own

Said Jack to Running Elk I’ll gamble all my precious stones
Before I leave my body here among these bleaching bones
Though now my time is drawing near and I’m filled with dark regrets
My spirit longs to journey as the sun begins to set

We raped and killed we stole your land we rule with guns and knives
Fed whiskey to your waters while we stole away your wives
Said Running Elk what’s done is done you white men rule this land
So lay the cards face up and play your last broken hearted hand

When your dealing cards with death the joker’s wild the ace is high
Jack bet the Mississippi River running Elk raised him the sky
Jack saw him with the sun and moon and upped him with the stars
Running Elk bet the Rocky Mountains Jupiter and Mars

Well The sun was sinking in the West when Jack draw the ace of spades
Running Elk just rolled his eyes and smiled and passed away
Jack picked up his turquoise stones and cast them to the sky
He stared into the setting sun and made a mournful cry

[4] Oh the wind blows [1] cold on the [5] trail of the buffa-[6m]-lo
[4] Oh the wind blows [1] cold in the [5] land of the Nava-[6m]-jo
[4] In the [5] land of the Nava-[6m]-jo

[1] Well a hundred miles from nowhere out [4] on the desert sand
[5] One-Eyed Jack the trader held some [1] turquoise in his hand
By his side sat Running Elk his [4] longtime Indian friend
[5] He vowed that he would stay by Jack until the bitter [1] end

Jack had gambled everything he owned to leave this wandering life
He might have had a happy home or a tender loving wife
But his hunger was for trading trapper’s furs for turquoise stones
Anything that the Indians had Jack wanted for his own

Said Jack to Running Elk I’ll gamble all my precious stones
Before I leave my body here among these bleaching bones
Though now my time is drawing near and I’m filled with dark regrets
My spirit longs to journey as the sun begins to set

We raped and killed we stole your land we rule with guns and knives
Fed whiskey to your waters while we stole away your wives
Said Running Elk what’s done is done you white men rule this land
So lay the cards face up and play your last broken hearted hand

[5] When your dealing cards with death the [4] joker’s wild the ace is high
[5] Jack bet the Mississippi River running Elk raised him the [1] sky
Jack saw him with the sun and moon and [4] upped him with the stars
Running [5] Elk bet the Rocky Mountains Jupiter and [1] Mars

[1] Well The sun was sinking in the West when [4] Jack draw the ace of spades
[5] Running Elk just rolled his eyes and smiled and passed [1] away
Jack picked up his turquoise stones and [4] cast them to the sky
He [5] stared into the setting sun and made a mournful [1] cry