The Road to El Dorado
Location
Right as my gold rush fever slowed
I stumbled on the mother lode
But someone else had claimed that road—
The road to El Dorado.
I was tired of falling for fool’s gold and flakes
And those other mistakes
That never panned out well.
Every boomtown that I’d ever known
Became a place the ghosts called “home”
Where memories dragged on, alone—
But I found El Dorado.
In his golden-flecked eyes
Was the prize
So I stopped digging dirt and went mining the skies—
But someone else knew El Dorado.
And she’s his darling Clementine
I know her treasure can’t be mine
I’ve never seen a gem so fine—
The queen of El Dorado.
No, she will not throw down the box
Or leave her jewel for paltry rocks.
I’m left in the mine dump; best hope is a claim jump.
But I would never steal him away.
Yet I can’t settle for tailings
Or swallow my failings.
I’m leaving this land with the dream of smooth sailing,
And one day—
I’ll find Treasure Island.