Gibbonsville Gold lyrics

My name is Bill Harlan. I'm a God fearin' man
From the lost rebel army, a Tennessee Calvary man
From Shilo to Nashville we made our last stand
When the battles were over, everythin' we had was gone with the wind

But I still had my family and a hope and a dream
And I heard of gold fever and the Rocky Mountain streams
So we took what we had and some gold diggin' gear
And we headed for a new life on the Northwest frontier

Montana Territory where the winters are cold
The lands full of game and the creeks are full of gold
Just west of the mountains is a town they call Gibbonsville
You can sure get gold fever, you can damn sure get killed
But I staked my claims, I was rarin' to go
I've made up my mind and I set out to find the Gibbonsville (D)gold

(Chorus)
Oh, you find just a little, just enough to get by
Aww, you dig and you dig, and you start wonderin' why
There's a whole lot more down there, I don't have to be told
I've made up my mind and I'm gonna find that Gibbonsville gold

Every morning at daylight with a pick and a pan
Keep an eye out for the blackfeet. Keep a rifle near hand
Back shooters and grizzlies, better stay alert all the time
'Cause the only law here in this wild country is the gun and the knife

In the year of our Lord, eighteen sixty-nine
I lost my dear son to a cave-in at the mine
Yes I know he's gone please God rest his soul
So many have died trying to find this damned Gibbonsville gold

(Chorus)
Yeah, you find just a little, just enough to get by
Aww, you dig and you dig, and you start wonderin' why
Then someone finds a nugget, just as big as your thumb
And we all go hard at it from sun until sun
Yeah I got to find it, that main mother load
I've made up my mind and I swear to find that Gibbonsville gold

There's a whole lot more down there, my share of that main mother load
I've made up my mind and I swear to find the Gibbonsville gold --- fade