And suddenly realized that
As it slowly moves along
Oh, sidewinders and the horn toe
I heard a tinkling whispering sound
I sat down and buried my face
In my hands and resting
Bleached by the desert sun
The lonely coyotes yell
When the day is hardly quiet
For weeks
How I managed to escape
From the valley, I don't know
I wandered aimlessly in the valley
And stopping to rest
In the sunny days and moonlight nights
Out on the desert, so many years ago
By a mystery so heavy and oppressive
And for those who stop and listen
On the thorny chaparral
Seeking answers to the many questions
Nearly covered by the sand
Why the white bones?
As you lay and gaze on high
I must tell you what I learned
Where was everyone?
Of the shifting, whispering sand
It is whispering, softly whispering
The dry wells, the barren valley
One would think the sand was resting
And the breeze seems not to blow
I learned the secret
It will sing this mournful song
I could scarcely breathe
The bones of the cattle picked clean by buzzards
I saw the silent windmills, the crumbling water tanks
I stumbled over a crumbling buckboard
That raced through my mind
But you'll find this is not so
Even though the wind was quiet
I seemed to be surrounded
But now to pay my debt for being saved
How the stars seem they could touch you
At the heavens where you're hoping
The sand did not lie still
Where people must have lived and died?
