| Wagons rolled out under darkened skies |
| The sun refused to shine |
| Four-hundred people full of hopes and dreams |
| In eighteen-forty-nine |
| They waved goodbye, women dried their tears |
| Young men hid their fears |
| They headed west, full of confidence |
| That their fortunes would appear |
| They packed a trunk full of china, a bible or two |
| A shotgun for Leroy, a pistol for Lou |
| A pretty dress for Sarah |
| And a hat for sister Fay |
| No one thought their greed for gold would change their lives someday |
| They headed west in eighteen-forty-nine |
| Sixty-one wagons, two miles long in a line |
| They headed west in eighteen-forty-nine |
| March winds came, filled the sky with lightnin' |
| It rained all day and night |
| Old men died and backs were broken |
| As they set their wagons right |
| They crossed the mountains, came down to the sea |
| Sure that it would be |
| Gold and riches and a life of ease |
| But what they didn’t see… |
| Was a trunk full of china all broken in two |
| A shotgun for Leroy that he used on Lou |
| A pretty dress for Sarah |
| That they used to bury Fay |
| No one thought their greed for gold would change their lives that way |
| They came for gold in eighteen-forty-nine |
| Sixty-one wagons, two miles long in a line |
| A promised land in eighteen-forty-nine |
| A promised land in eighteen-forty-nine |
| A promised land in eighteen-forty-nine |