I'm old Tom Moore from the bummer's shore
In the g ood old g olden d ays.
They call me a bummer and a g in sot, too
But what cares I for pr aise
I wander around from t own to town
Just like a roving sign,
And all the people all say "There goes Tom Moore
In the days of ' 49.
[Refrain :]
In the days of old, in the d ays of gold
How oftentimes I re pine
For the days of old when we dug up the gold
In the d ays o f '4 9.
There wa s Nantuck Bill, I knew h im well,
A feller that was fo nd of t ricks.
At a poker game he was always t here
And hea vy with his br icks.
He would ante up and draw h is cards
And go in a hatfull blind
In a game of bluff, Bill lost his b reath
In the d ays o f '4 9.
[Refrain]
There wa s New York Jake, a butche r boy
He was a lways g etting tight.
And every time that he got full
He was alw ays hun ting a fight.
One night he run up against a knife
In the hands of old Bob K line
And over Jake they held a wake
In the d ays o f '4 9.
[Refrain]
There was p oor old Jess, the old lame cuss
He n ever wo uld rel ent.
Her never was known to miss a drink
Or ever sp end a c ent.
At length ol d Jess like all th e rest
Who never would de cline,
In a ll his bloom went up the flume
In the days of ' 49.
[Refrain]
The re was roaring Bill from B uffalo
I never w ill for get.
He would roar all day and he'd roar all night
And I g uess he 's roar ing yet.
One night he f ell in a prospecto r's hole
In a roaring bad d esign,
In i n that hole roared out his soul
In the days of ' 49.
[Refrain]