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 friend
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
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 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 last broken hearted hand

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 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 the mournful cry

Refrain