I wanted to die in the desert I planned it for twenty years Alone with my God and my conscience And not a sky-pilot near I meant what I said when I doped it It threw a spell over me The mesas, the sand, and the deadness Was the place I wanted to be I've roamed and traveled all over I've stood on the brink of hell I wooed it, I coaxed it, and I fought it I was caught in its deadly spell I said when I croaked that I'd go To the desert to find my hole The snakes, the coyotes to watch over me My headstone a lone yucca pole The death that I've cheated so often It has pulled its freight into town I can't get back to the desert I am broke, not a penny, I'm down Life is a burden and not worth the while I'll play that ace up my sleeve It's poison, quick stuff, Saint Peter Adios to the world I leave Just throw my old hide in the cactus Out where the desert wind moans I wanted to die in the desert Where the buzzards can peck on my bones