Key: originally E, here C (capo 4th fret)
[Verse]
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.
