Three Sands is a ghost-town elegy for one of Oklahoma’s most fleeting oil boomtowns. Born on the border of Kay and Noble counties, Three Sands exploded into life when oil was king — then vanished just as fast when the wells ran dry and the schoolhouse closed in 1946.
This song captures that rise and fall with dusty vocals and steel guitar echo, telling the story of fortunes struck, dreams abandoned, and the silence that followed.
Three Sands isn’t just about oil — it’s about how fast a town can appear, and how long its memory lingers in the wind.
THREE SANDS
Built on oil, born in flame
Three Sands rose without a name
Derricks danced where the prairie lay
And folks poured in for one good payday
Boardwalks buzzed, saloons stayed loud
Children played beneath a sky of clouds
Kay met Noble where the pumps struck deep
But boomtown dreams don’t ever sleep
Three Sands, where the oil once sang
Where hope lit fires and money rang
Now tumbleweeds walk empty land
And echoes sleep in Three Sands
School bell rang its final time
In '46, the end drew its line
No chalk on boards, no boots on floors
Just dust collecting at the door
It was bright, and then it burned
Some towns grow, and some get turned
To ghosts in maps, or lines in songs
But they were real — and they belonged
Three Sands, where the wells ran dry
Where the sky remembers and the past won't lie
No one calls, but the silence stands
Still whispering through Three Sands
So if you walk that borderland
You'll find a town beneath the sand
No sign remains, no welcome hand
But you’ll feel the soul of Three Sands
written & produced by Jason Spiess
