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

A hundred miles from nowhere out on the desert sand
One Eyed Jack the trader hold some turquoise in his hand
By his side sat Running Elk his longtime Indian freind
He vowed that he would stay by Jack until the bitter end
Jack had gambled everything he owned to leave this wondering life
He might have had a happy home and a tender loving wife
But his hunger was for trading trapper's furs for turquoise stones
Anythihg that the Indians had Jack wanted for his own

* Refrain

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 add 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 dice, broken hearted man

* Refrain

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 room and upped him with the stars
Running Elk bet the Rocky Mountains Jupiter and Mars
The sun was sinking in the west when Jack draw the ace of spades
Running Elk just rolled his eyes he smiled and passed away
Jack picked up his truquoise stones and cast them to the sky
He stared into the setting sun aAnd made the mourful cry

* Refrain