The Shifting, Whispering Sands Part I (Cash Johnny)

I discovered the Valley of the Shifting, Whispering Sands While prospecting in a western state I saw the silent windmills, the crumbling water tanks The bones of the cattle picked clean by buzzards Bleached by the desert sun I stumbled over a crumbling buck board Nearly covered by the sand And stopping to rest I heard a tinkling, whispering sound And suddenly realized that even though the wind was quiet The sand did not lie still I seemed to be surrounded be a mystery So heavy and apperceive I could scarcely breath For weeks I wondered aimlessly in the valley Seeking answers to the many questions that raced through my mind Where was everyone? Why the white bones? The dry wells? The barren valley where people must have lived and died I sat down and buried my face in my hands And resting I learned the secret of the Shifting, Whispering Sands How I managed to escape from the valley I don't know But now to pay my debt for being saved I must tell you what I learned out on the desert So many years ago When the day is oddly quiet And the breeze seems not to blow One would think the sun is resting But you'll find this is not so It is whispering softly whispering As it slowly moves along And for those who stop and listen It will sing this mournful song Of sidewinders and the horn toads On the thorny chaparral In the sunny days and moonlight lights The lonely coyotes yell How the stars seem they can touch you As you lay and gaze on high At the heavens where your hoping You'll be going when you die