The Road to El Dorado

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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.

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