SHIFTING, WHISPERING SANDS
V.C. GILBERT WROTE THE LYRICS TO "SHIFTING, WHISPERING SANDS" IN 1950.
MARY M. HADLER WAS THE COMPOSER.
MANY SINGERS RECORDED THE SONG.
JIM REEVES, WHO IS SINGING
"SHIFTING, WHISPERING SANDS", RECORDED THE MASTERPIECE IN 1961.
1923-1964
This page was last updated on: January 23, 2010
I discovered the valley of the
Shifting Whispering Sands,
While prospecting for gold
In one of our western states.
I saw the silent windmills,
The crumbling water tanks,
The bones of cattle and burrows
Picked clean by buzzards,
Bleached by the desert sun.
I stumbled over a crumbling buckboard
Nearly covered by the sands.
And stopping to rest I heard a tinkling,
Whispering sound and suddenly realized,
Even though the wind was quiet,
The sand did not lie still.
I seemed to be surrounded by a mystery,
So heavy and oppressive,
I could scarcely breathe.
For days and weeks I wondered aimlessly,
In this valley seeking answers to questions,
That raced though my fevered mind.
Where was everyone?
Why the white bones?
The dry wells?
The barren valley,
Where people must have lived and died.
Finally, I could go no further,
My food and water gone.
I sat down and buried my face in my hands,
And resting thus I learned the secret,
Of the Shifting Whispering Sands.
It is whispering, softly whispering,
As it slowly moves along,
And for those who stop and listen,
It will sing this mournful song.
Of sidewinders and the horntoads,
Of the thorny chaparral,
In the sunny days and moonlight nights,
The coyotes lonely yell.
How the stars seem you could touch them,
As you lay and gaze on high,
At the heavens where we're hoping,
We'll be going when we die.
How I managed to escape from the valley,
I do not know, but now to pay my final debt,
For being spared, I must tell you what I learned,
Out there on the desert so many years ago.
When the day is oddly quiet,
And the breeze seems not to blow,
One would think the sand was resting,
But you'll find this is not so.
