This Southern-fried country ballad was written by George McCorkle, guitarist for the Marshall Tucker Band. Set during the California gold rush, it tells the story of a family that sets out from their home in Carolina looking to strike it rich. The singer ends up getting shot dead, and his widow is left with a worthless claim.
Toy Caldwell played steel guitar on this track, but according to McCorkle, he played it out of tune because he had just recently bought the instrument and didn't know how to tune it properly.
This was The Marshall Tucker Band's second-highest hit, the highest being "Heard It In A Love Song." It was also one of their only two Top 40 hits.
Lyrics
Took my family away from our Carolina home
Had dreams about the west and started to roam
Six long months on a dust covered trail
They say heaven's at the end
But so far it's been hell
And there's fire on the mountain
Lightening in the air
Gold in them hills and it's waiting for me there
We were digging and shifting from five to five
Selling everything we found just to stay alive
Gold flowed free like the whiskey in the bars
Sinning was the big thin Lord
And Satan was the star
And there's fire on the mountain
Lightening in the air
Gold in them hills and it's waiting for me there
Dance hall girls were the evening treat
Empty cartridges and blood lined the gutters of the street
Men were shot down for the sake of fun
Or just to hear the noise of their 44 guns
And there's fire on the mountain
Lightening in the air
Gold in them hills and it's waiting for me there
Now my widow, she weeps by my grave
Tears flow free for her man she couldn't save
Shot down in cold blood by a gun that carried fame
All for a useless and no good worthless claim
And there's fire on the mountain
Lightening in the air
Gold in them hills and it's waiting for me there
Fire on the mountain
Lightening in the air
Gold in them hills and it's waiting for me there
Waiting for me there
Songwriters: George Mccorkle
Fire On The Mountain lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
