[Banjo Beat Intro] Word came down from the Sacramento Gold in the water so I had to go Dust on my boots with a map in my hand Chasing that shine like a possessed man [Chorus] I got gold fever running through my veins Westbound wheels on a runaway train Pick in the dirt with a dream on the line Whole world moving for a piece of that shine Boomtown lit till the vein runs dry One man gets rich while a thousand just try Silver in the mountain gold in the stream The West got built on a get rich dream [Verse 1] Sutters Mill in eighteen forty eight One little strike made the whole world shake News hit fast no pause no warning By forty nine they were gone by morning Farmers left fields and the lawyers left cases Doctors left patients for wide open spaces Some came by ship with the waves running high Some took the trails under dust colored skies Americans came but they were not alone China to Chillay put boots on the road Europe Australia Mexico too Different languages same gold view I came from the South with a drawl and a plan Thought I would pull me a fortune straight out of a pan But the hills had tricks and the rivers played cold I found plenty of gravel with expensive goals [Chorus] I got gold fever running through my veins Westbound wheels on a runaway train Pick in the dirt with a dream on the line Whole world moving for a piece of that shine Boomtown lit till the vein runs dry One man gets rich while a thousand just try Silver in the mountain gold in the stream The West got built on a get rich dream [Verse 2] San Francisco went from quiet to loud Twenty thousand deep with a fortune bound crowd New town rising like smoke from a spark Money moved fast from the dawn to the dark Prices went high when supplies ran low Merchants struck gold without digging below Levi sold denim that could handle the strain While I wore out a shovel in the sun and the rain Bent by the stream with a pan and a prayer Looking for riches that were barely even there Most found dust after months on the claim Some found gold then spent it the same Cash in the pocket and cards on the table Living too fast when the town had no stable Then the vein went silent and the whole place cleared Boomtown gone like it never appeared [Chorus] I got gold fever running through my veins Westbound wheels on a runaway train Pick in the dirt with a dream on the line Whole world moving for a piece of that shine Boomtown lit till the vein runs dry One man gets rich while a thousand just try Silver in the mountain gold in the stream The West got built on a get rich dream [Verse 3] California cooled but the fever stayed hot If the gold was not here then we changed the spot Pikes Peak called in eighteen fifty eight Twenty dollars daily had them storming the gate When most made less than a dollar a day Fifty thousand people started heading that way They panned every river and they scratched every stone Till the easy gold vanished and the truth became known Real wealth waited in the ore down deep Machines cost money and the shafts ran steep Companies climbed while the lone miners fell The dream looked golden but the odds didn't sell Then Comstock hit like a flash in the night Nevada hills full of silver and hype Thousands dug in but the profits stayed slim Everybody saw the shine but the shine chose few of them [Bridge] Gold turned silver then copper and lead One rush faded and another one spread Miners made roads where the maps had gaps Settlers came after with their lives all packed Farms in the valleys and herds on the plains Stores by the trails and new towns with names The fortune disappeared but the movement remained The West kept changing when the rush moved away [Final Chorus] We got gold fever running through our veins Westbound wheels on a runaway train Pick in the dirt with a dream on the line Whole world moving for a piece of that shine Boomtown fell but the roads stayed wide More farms more ranches on the western side Silver disappeared but it started the stream The West got built on a get rich dream [Banjo Beat Outro] I never got rich from the gold in the ground But I watched new states and new cities rise around Came chasing treasure with the rest of that crowd The shine burned out but the West spread out
