Verse 1)In the damp fields of Bengal the pale petals bloom,Gathered in the shadows of the East India loom.Boiled down to tar, pressed in chests made of pine,Marked for the voyage on the shipping line.Down the Hooghly River, out into the spray,Weigh anchor, brave the monsoon, and sail far away.(Chorus)O, the golden brown smoke drifting into the night,Trading earthly treasures for the pale, hazy light.From the poppy fields of Asia, across the blue sea,A bitter, sweet cargo changing history.Bargained in Canton, sent to London's cold shore,Gold for the ashes and a merchant's closed door.(Verse 2)They unload in the bays where the war junks are moored,By the chests and the silver, the commerce is secured.From the Pearl River delta, it climbs the old trails,Through the mountain pass checkpoints and merchants in veils.Smuggled in the sampans, hidden in the tea,A hunger of silver flowing back to the sea.(Chorus)O, the golden brown smoke drifting into the night,Trading earthly treasures for the pale, hazy light.From the poppy fields of Asia, across the blue sea,A bitter, sweet cargo changing history.Bargained in Canton, sent to London's cold shore,Gold for the ashes and a merchant's closed door.(Bridge)Then the galleons turn and the caravans wind,Leaving empires of silver and copper behind.From the shores of the Orient, the trade winds command,A shadow cast heavy upon the whole land.To the apothecary’s shop in the heart of the West,It eases the weary, puts the mind to the test.(Chorus)O, the golden brown smoke drifting into the night,Trading earthly treasures for the pale, hazy light.From the poppy fields of Asia, across the blue sea,A bitter, sweet cargo changing history.Bargained in Canton, sent to London's cold shore,Gold for the ashes and a merchant's closed door.(Outro)The long road is quiet, the harbor is still,The grip of the poppy continues to chill.Two worlds bound together by a hazardous chain,Wrapped in the blossoms of fortune and pain.Trade brings the empires, and the empires divide,Carried on the current of the silver-lined tide.
