Instruments
| Cm | Ab | Eb | Eb | [x2]| Cm | Ab | Eb Bb/D | Cm || Fm | Bb | Eb | Eb |
Verse
Cm Ab Eb Cm Ab EbIn the Spring of Forty-seven, So the story, it is told, Cm Ab Eb Cm Fm Bb EbOld John Sutter went to the mill site Found a piece of shining gold. Cm Ab Eb Cm Ab EbWell, he took it to the city Where the word, like wildfire, spread. Cm Ab Eb Cm Fm Bb CmAnd old John Sutter soon came to wish he'd Left that stone in the river bed.
Pre-Hook
Ab Eb Ab Eb CmFor they came like herds of locusts Every woman, child and man Ab Eb Cm Fm Bb CmIn their lumbering Conestogas They left their tracks upon the land.
Hook
Ab Eb Ab Eb CmSome would fail and some would prosper Some would die and some would kill Ab Eb CmSome would thank the Lord for their deliverance Fm Bb EbAnd some would curse John Sutter's Mill.
Verse
Cm Ab Eb Cm Ab EbWell, they came from New York City, And they came from Alabam' Cm Ab Eb Cm Fm Bb EbWith their dreams of finding fortunes In this wild unsettled land. Cm Ab Eb Cm Ab EbWell, some fell prey to hostile arrows As they tried to cross the plains. Cm Ab Eb Cm Fm Bb CmAnd some were lost in the Rocky Mountains With their hands froze to the reins.
Hook
Ab Eb Ab Eb CmSome would fail and some would prosper Some would die and some would kill Ab Eb CmSome would thank the Lord for their deliverance Fm Bb EbAnd some would curse John Sutter's Mill.
Instruments
| Cm | Ab | Eb | Eb Bb/D | [x2]| Cm | Ab | Eb Bb/D | Cm || Fm | Bb | Eb | Eb |
Verse
Cm Ab Eb Cm Ab EbWell, some pushed on to California And others stopped to take their rest. Cm Ab Eb Cm Fm Bb EbAnd by the Spring of Eighteen-sixty They had opened up the west. Cm Ab Eb Cm Ab EbAnd then the railroad came behind them And the land was plowed and tamed, Cm Ab Eb Cm Fm Bb CmWhen Old John Sutter went to meet his maker, He'd not one penny to his name.
Hook
Ab Eb Ab Eb CmSome would fail and some would prosper Some would die and some would kill Ab Eb CmSome would thank the Lord for their deliverance Fm Bb EbAnd some would curse John Sutter's Mill.
Tag
Fm Bb Eb CmAnd some would curse John Sutter's Mill. Fm Bb | Eb | Eb |Some men's thirsts are never filled.
Instruments
| Cm | Ab | Eb | Eb | [x2]| Cm | Ab | Eb | Cm || Fm | Bb | Cm |
