The Bandit Joaquin

From the broken hills of Mexico
We took the horses we stole
To Sonora and the California mines
Where you gringos dig for gold
Even north to the Oregon line
The story is the same
All your women they tremble in fear
At the mention of my name

I rob the miner on the Coulterville Road
I leave his blood on the ground
Like mist through oak and digger pine
I move without a sound
Your finest horses belong to me
I take them as I please
I line my pockets with your gold
And I am gone with the midnight breeze

[Chorus]
I am the bandit Joaquin
I live in the wild with the bear and wolverine
Over hill and valley I fly as in a dream
I am the ghost I am the fox I am the bandit Joaquin

There is no use to wonder why
My reasons are my own
The hatred I feel for Anglo blood
Lies deep within my bones
My segundo is Three Finger jack
He cuts off the Chinaman's ears
And wears them like a necklace around his throat
He’s a man who knows no fear

The fools up there who make your laws
They are lawyers, they are thieves
They want a devil that they can blame
And Joaquin is what they need
So I’m the ghost of El Dorado but the blame is on their heads
At night when hoof beats shake they ground
They tremble in their beds

[Chorus]
I am the bandit Joaquin
I live in the wild with the bear and wolverine
Over hill and valley I fly as in a dream
I am the ghost I am the fox I am the bandit Joaquin

Captain Love and his ranger band
They said they took my head
The fools rode into a stranger’s camp
And they left the wrong man dead

Others say I never was
I am a dream of what could be
But even if I had never lived you would have invented me

[Chorus]
I am the bandit Joaquin
I live in the wild with the bear and wolverine
Over hill and valley I fly as in a dream
I am the ghost I am the fox I am the bandit Joaquin
I am the ghost I am the fox I am the bandit Joaquin