C      Am     F         C 
In the spring of forty- seven
      Am     F         C 
So the story it is told
         Am     F       C        C     Am
Old John Sutter went to the Mill site
        Dm7   G7             C
Found a piece of shinin' gold.
         Am      F      C 
Well, he took it to the city
          Am   F             C
Where the word like wildfire spread
         Am     F            C        Am 
Old John Sutter soon came to wishin'
               Dm7   G7  Am7
He'd left that stone in the river bed.
         F                  C
Oh, they came like herds of locusts
      F  C              Am
Every wo-man, child and man
         F                 C        Am 
In their lumberin' connes- togas
                Dm7       G7        Am
They left their track upon the land.

[Refrain]
           F                   C
Some would fail and some would prosper
           F   C              Am
Some would die and some would kill
           F                         C          Am 
Some would beg the Lord for their de-liverance
           Dm7   G7            C
Some would curse John Sutter's Mill.
           Am   F             C
Well, they came from New York City
           Am   F             C
And they came from Ala-bam'
           Am   F             C       Am
With their dream of findin' for-tune
        Dm7     G7     C
In this wild unsettled land.

[Verse]
                Am   F          C
Well, some fell prey to hostile arrows
        Am    F            C 
As they tried to cross the land
              Am   F            C          Am
And some were lost in the Rocky Mountains
           Dm7   G7           Am
With their hands froze to the reins.

[Refrain] (x2)
           F                   C
Some would fail and some would prosper
           F   C              Am
Some would die and some would kill
           F                         C          Am 
Some would beg the Lord for their de-liverance
           Dm7   G7            C
Some would curse John Sutter's Mill.
           Am   F             C
Well, they came from New York City
           Am   F             C
And they came from Ala-bam'
           Am   F             C       Am
With their dream of findin' for-tune
        Dm7     G7     C
In this wild unsettled land.