Man in the Hole

The X marked the spot
Where the treasure was rumored to be
Or so said the map
And so began his odyssey

Farewell to my sister
Farewell to my friends and the town
And the journey was made
And he planted his spade in the ground

So it was, he became renowned
As the man in the hole

And he dug and he dug yielding none
But a porcelain shard and a key
Came the point where the weak will succumb
But no sir, no quitter was he

Oh, my how conspicuous
A man who can stick to his guns
Said the raving young beauty
Who came bearing cinnamon buns

That she baked on the night before
For the man in the hole

And looking her over he stopped
Long enough to say, thanks for the roll
Ate the icing clean of the top
And went right back to digging his hole

She was in awe of him
Saw in him something unique
And she rose to defend him
When gossips attempted to speak

All the while with the pile growing steeper
Even she came to call him insane
He just kept digging deeper and deeper
So deep you could smell the chow mien

His family, his friends, nobody made sense anymore
Ye with no faith, go away, go away from my door
Cried the man, cried the man in the hole
Cried the man, cried the man in the hole

And he dug and he dug, and he dug
Till one morning he struck something hard
Yes, and lifting the trough from the mud
He fell to his knees, oh my God

But only the sparrows would hear
The great cheer he let go
As his call for a witness was answered
By his echo

As it ricocheted down the trail
Of the man in the hole

And so finally the ultimate twist
As the walls had grown too steep to climb
There would be no way out of the ditch
And the man saw his fatal design

So he covered the floor
With sapphires, rubies and pearls
Built a throne out of gold
Where alone he grew old in his world
Goes the tale of the man in the hole