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 d**h 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