He left home in ’49 and headed West in hopes to find
The gold he was told hides in the hills
His pockets filled with nuggets and thrills
He brought along a recipe for shine

A poor boy from Mississippi found a new way in the West
He knew about corn whiskey and the secrets to make it best
He found wealth untold
Shine for gold

In California, he built a still and a store to pay the bills
He never had to pan the streams
Money rolled in from shattered dreams
They entered empty and he gave them their fill

A poor boy from Mississippi found a new way in the West
He knew about corn whiskey and the secrets to make it best
He found wealth untold
Shine for gold

Every morning they’d line up at the door
Drinking him dry, craving more for ore
He’d pour as their poor guts spilled out on the floor
They cleaned out the store

He shut down in ’65, a letter from home arrived
One night a fight in the town, cold-hearted Yankees burned it down
He headed back with passion divine
As he headed back to Mississippi, loaded up all of his wealth
And he packed up his corn whiskey
To boost morale and health
But his luck didn’t hold
On his tombstone they wrote
Shine for gold
Shine on