The Spell
Current Value feat. Snow Lyrics

I wanted the gold, and I sought it,
The singer desired wealth and dedicated their effort towards acquiring it.

I scrabbled and mucked like a slave.
The singer worked tirelessly, like a slave, to acquire gold.

Was it famine or scurvy -- I fought it;
The singer faced hardships, such as famine or scurvy, but persevered through them.

I hurled my youth into a grave.
The artist sacrificed their youth and vitality in pursuit of gold.

I wanted the gold, and I got it --
The artist was successful in acquiring a fortune in gold.

Came out with a fortune last fall, --
The singer recently acquired their fortune.

Yet somehow life's not what I thought it,
Despite the singer's success, they feel unfulfilled and unsatisfied with their life.

And somehow the gold isn't all.
The artist realizes that wealth and gold are not everything in life.

No! There's the land. (Have you seen it?)
The artist shifts their focus from gold to the land and asks whether the listener has seen it.

It's the cussedest land that I know,
The artist acknowledges that the land is difficult and challenging.

From the big, dizzy mountains that screen it
The land is characterized by large, dizzying mountains.

To the deep, deathlike valleys below.
The land is also characterized by deep, lifeless valleys.

Some say God was tired when He made it;
The singer imagines that some people believe that the land was created when God was tired or less focused.

Some say it's a fine land to shun;
Other people may think that the land is not worth exploring or inhabiting.

Maybe; but there's some as would trade it
However, the singer personally values the land and knows others who would trade anything for it.

For no land on earth -- and I'm one.
The artist values this land above all others and would not trade it for anything.

You come to get rich (damned good reason);
The artist acknowledges that wealth is a good reason to come to the land.

You feel like an exile at first;
However, newcomers to the land may initially feel like outsiders.

You hate it like hell for a season,
Newcomers may even despise the land for a while.

And then you are worse than the worst.
But eventually, newcomers become even worse off than they were before due to the land's grip on them.

It grips you like some kinds of sinning;
The land's hold on people is likened to addictive, sinful behavior.

It twists you from foe to a friend;
The land can change people's attitudes from hostility to fondness.

It seems it's been since the beginning;
The singer feels like the land has always existed and will continue to exist in the same way.

It seems it will be to the end.
The artist believes that the land will continue to have a hold on people forever.

I've stood in some mighty-mouthed hollow
The singer has been in a deep, echoing hollow.

That's plumb-full of hush to the brim;
The hollow is completely silent and serene.

I've watched the big, husky sun wallow
The singer has seen the sun set in a majestic, powerful way.

In crimson and gold, and grow dim,
The sun sets in a beautiful crimson and gold color before lowering in the sky.

Till the moon set the pearly peaks gleaming,
The moon has risen and illuminates the peaks of the mountains with a soft, pearly light.

And the stars tumbled out, neck and crop;
The night sky fills up with stars until there are too many to count.

And I've thought that I surely was dreaming,
The experience was so magical that the singer thought they must be dreaming.

With the peace o' the world piled on top.
The artist felt an overwhelming sense of peace and contentment.

The summer -- no sweeter was ever;
The artist has experienced no sweeter summer than in this land.

The sunshiny woods all athrill;
The woods are filled with sunlight and life.

The grayling aleap in the river,
Fish called grayling are jumping out of the river and into the air.

The bighorn asleep on the hill.
Bighorn sheep are sleeping on the hills, providing a peaceful scene.

The strong life that never knows harness;
The land is full of wild, free, powerful creatures and nature.

The wilds where the caribou call;
The land is full of wilderness with caribou making their calls heard in the distance.

The freshness, the freedom, the farness --
The land has a unique freshness, freedom, and distant quality to it that the singer finds appealing.

O God! how I'm stuck on it all.
The artist is deeply in love with and emotionally attached to the land and all its qualities.

The winter! the brightness that blinds you,
The winter in this land is incredibly bright and striking.

The white land locked tight as a drum,
The winter land is completely white like a tight drumhead.

The cold fear that follows and finds you,
Winters in this land come with an intense feeling of cold and fear.

The silence that bludgeons you dumb.
The silence that comes with winter is so overwhelming that it can be bewildering.

The snows that are older than history,
The snow that falls in the winter is ancient and has been falling for generations.

The woods where the weird shadows slant;
There are strange, unsettling shadows in the woods.

The stillness, the moonlight, the mystery,
The winter night brings with it a sense of stillness, moonlight, and mystery.

I've bade 'em good-by -- but I can't.
The artist is unable to leave behind their memories of this winter land.

There's a land where the mountains are nameless,
There is a land where the mountains are so immense that nobody can name them.

And the rivers all run God knows where;
Similarly, the rivers in this land flow in so many directions that nobody can track them all.

There are lives that are erring and aimless,
Some people in this land live aimless, wandering lives.

And deaths that just hang by a hair;
Others face the constant possibility of death hanging by a thread.

There are hardships that nobody reckons;
Some of the hardships faced in this land are uncountable and unimaginable.

There are valleys unpeopled and still;
There are valleys in this land that are empty and deathly still.

There's a land -- oh, it beckons and beckons,
Despite the challenges this land poses, it is still alluring and draws people in.

And I want to go back -- and I will.
The artist is eager to return to this land and will do so.

They're making my money diminish;
The artist's wealth is diminishing due to external factors.

I'm sick of the taste of champagne.
The artist is wealthy enough to be able to drink champagne but is tired of its taste.

Thank God! when I'm skinned to a finish
The singer is grateful that when they lose all their wealth, they have a backup plan.

I'll pike to the Yukon again.
When the artist loses their wealth, they will return to the Yukon.

I'll fight -- and you bet it's no sham-fight;
The singer acknowledges that returning to the Yukon will be a difficult, real fight.

It's hell! -- but I've been there before;
The singer knows that the fight to reclaim wealth in the Yukon will be like a visit to hell, but they have experienced it before.

And it's better than this by a damnsite --
Despite the difficulty of the fight, it is preferable to the singer than the current situation.

So me for the Yukon once more.
The artist is resolved to return to the Yukon once again.

There's gold, and it's haunting and haunting;
The artist acknowledges that there is always the allure and temptation of gold in the Yukon.

It's luring me on as of old;
Despite having experienced the Yukon before, the gold still tempts the singer to return.

Yet it isn't the gold that I'm wanting
However, the singer admits that it is not the gold that they truly want.

So much as just finding the gold.
The artist's true desire is simply to discover the gold, not possess it.

It's the great, big, broad land 'way up yonder,
The artist's true desire is for the vast and majestic Yukon land itself.

It's the forests where silence has lease;
The artist is drawn to the forests where silence seems to occupy every space.

It's the beauty that thrills me with wonder,
The incredible beauty of the Yukon thrills and astonishes the singer.

It's the stillness that fills me with peace.
Above all, the artist is drawn to the stillness of the Yukon that brings them peace.