There are hundreds of ways to interpret this song, and here's mine. Sorry it's so obnoxiously long...
I think the first line is, "Won't you run, run with me for gold."
And then the rest...
"Take my home, treat it as your own"
(He's running away and offers for the person he loves to come with him and live with him wherever he goes. As indicated by coming lines, he seems to be financially in debt to someone and is running away to find some way to make/get money.)
"My mother told me don't you run away,
Because it takes a man to keep them hungry"
(Although his mother advises him not to run, she seems [to me] to be making fun of him and the fact that he, the man, can't provide for their family and gets into debt instead.)
"But I'm so damn cold,
And if this blood don't turn to gold,
I think I'm doomed."
(He feels emotionally cold and unloved by the people here--even his own mother makes fun of him, and he believes the people he's in debt to don't care about him at all, only his money. 'This blood' is his own body, and the people to whom he's in debt would rather he turns himself into gold for them since they don't give a #%$! about the man himself, they only care about the money. However, since he can't change himself into gold to repay them, he is doomed and they will punish him, hence his running away to get money, or 'running for gold.')
"The time has come, my friend, to run
I bid you please to take the roses and the loaded gun I left you
'Cause I'm hopin' now you'll find somehow
That I'm so damn cold"
(That he 'left' her these things indicates that his love interest has chosen not to come with him, so he will run away by himself, and the time is now. He leaves her roses to show he still loves her. And I think the gun is to let her know how "cold" and un-cared-about he feels [and that he may have been considering suicide], since he left the gun 'CAUSE he's hoping she'll find that he's so damn cold.)
"And if this blood don't turn to gold,
I think I'm doomed."
(same as above)
There are hundreds of ways to interpret this song, and here's mine. Sorry it's so obnoxiously long...
I think the first line is, "Won't you run, run with me for gold." And then the rest... "Take my home, treat it as your own"
(He's running away and offers for the person he loves to come with him and live with him wherever he goes. As indicated by coming lines, he seems to be financially in debt to someone and is running away to find some way to make/get money.)
"My mother told me don't you run away, Because it takes a man to keep them hungry"
(Although his mother advises him not to run, she seems [to me] to be making fun of him and the fact that he, the man, can't provide for their family and gets into debt instead.)
"But I'm so damn cold, And if this blood don't turn to gold, I think I'm doomed."
(He feels emotionally cold and unloved by the people here--even his own mother makes fun of him, and he believes the people he's in debt to don't care about him at all, only his money. 'This blood' is his own body, and the people to whom he's in debt would rather he turns himself into gold for them since they don't give a #%$! about the man himself, they only care about the money. However, since he can't change himself into gold to repay them, he is doomed and they will punish him, hence his running away to get money, or 'running for gold.')
"The time has come, my friend, to run I bid you please to take the roses and the loaded gun I left you 'Cause I'm hopin' now you'll find somehow That I'm so damn cold"
(That he 'left' her these things indicates that his love interest has chosen not to come with him, so he will run away by himself, and the time is now. He leaves her roses to show he still loves her. And I think the gun is to let her know how "cold" and un-cared-about he feels [and that he may have been considering suicide], since he left the gun 'CAUSE he's hoping she'll find that he's so damn cold.)
"And if this blood don't turn to gold, I think I'm doomed." (same as above)
That's just my personal take on it...