Took my fam'ly away from our Carolina home
Had dreams about the west and started to roam
Six long months on a dust covered trail
They say heaven's at the end
But so far it's been [bad word] 

And there's fire on the mountain
Lightening in the air
Gold in them hills and it's waiting for me there

We were digging and shifting from five to five
Selling ev'rything we found just to stay alive
Gold flowed free like the whiskey in the bars
Sinning was the big thin Lord
And satan was the star

And there's fire on the mountain
Lightening in the air
Gold in them hills and it's waiting for me there

Dance hall girls were the evening treat
Empty cartridges and blood lined the gutters of the street
Men were shot down for the sake of fun
Or just to hear the noise of their 44 guns

And there's fire on the mountain
Lightening in the air
Gold in them hills and it's waiting for me there

Now my widow, she weeps by my grave
Tears flow free for her man she couldn't save
Shot down in cold blood by a gun that carried fame
All for a useless and no good worthless claim

And there's fire on the mountain
Lightening in the air
Gold in them hills and it's waiting for me there