[Verse 1]
He came 'round here with his camera
And some of his American friends
Where the money is immortal
And the killing never ends
He set out from Cinecittà
Through the ruined streets of Rome
To shoot in Almeria
And bring the bodies home

[Bridge]
He said, "I'll be rich or I'll be dead
I got it all here in my head"

[Verse 2]
He could see the killers' faces
And he heard the song they sang
Where he waited in the darkness
With the Viale Glorioso gang
He could see the blood approaching
And he knew what he would be
Since the days when he was first assisting
The Force of Destiny

[Verse 3]
He worked for Walsh and Wyler
With the chariot and sword
When he rode out in the desert
He was quoting Hawks and Ford
He came to see the masters
And he left with what he saw
What he stole from Kurosawa
He bequeathed to Peckinpah
[Verse 4]
From the Via Tuscolana
To the view from Miller Drive
He shot the eyes of bad men
And kept their deaths alive
With the darkness and the anguish
Of a Goya or Van Cleef
He rescued truth from beauty
And meaning from belief