“When I Find Gold” by Isaac Graham
Chords: Em (022000), G (320003), D (xx0232), C (x32010)
Capo V
Intro: Em, G, Em, G
Em G
He was born on the steps of the rum hospital
Em G
As the rains flowed down veins of Macquarie Street
Em D G C(4x)
His mother, exhausted, died in her sleep
Em D G(4x)
It was September fourteen eighteen twenty-eight
Em G
And on George Street that evening, as John Brodie was born,
Em G
Three men dug a tunnel into the Bank of Australia
Em D G C(4x)
A considerable sensation was excited in town
D G(4x)
John lost his mother while the bank lost its pounds
C D G
When he was twenty-three he moved to Ballarat
C D G
Looking for the gold and a pretty girl to have his children
Em D Em
But all he found was bureaucrats and taxes
C D G
Yeah well, they say we need a license to be rich
Instrumental: Em, G, Em, G
Em G
And they sent the troops from Melbourne with their sniders
Em G
They aimed their guns at good men and decent folk
Em D G C(4x)
And when that bastard Bentley killed Scobie in cold blood
C D G(4x)
We kept warm that night from the ashes of his hotel
Em G
And you could feel the hate and greed in the miasma
Em G
Lord, I heard they killed that boy that played the drums
Em D G C(4x)
But on Bakery Hill the Southern Cross flew high
C D G(4x)
But John Brodie lost his life before he could see that blue flag fly
C D G
His heart skipped a beat when the bullet hit
C D G
And the blood spilled from his chest onto the ground
C D Em
And as he lay in agony he stared up at the clouds
C D G
And he whispered to himself as he died
He said,
G C D
“When I find gold, oh, I’m gonna be a better man
“When I find gold, oh, I’m gonna be a better man
“When I find gold, oh, I’m gonna be a better man
“When I find gold, oh, I’m gonna be a better man
“When I find gold, oh, I’m gonna be a better man
“When I find gold, oh, I’m gonna be a better man
“When I find gold, oh, I’m gonna be a better man
“When I find gold, oh, I’m gonna be a better man
G C D
When I find gold, yeah, we'll settle down and buy some land
G C D
When I find gold, oh, I'll put a ring upon your hand
G C D
When I find gold, oh, I'm gonna be a better man
When I find gold, oh, I'm gonna be a better man
When I find gold, oh, I'm gonna be a better man
When I find gold, oh, I'm gonna be a better man
When I find gold, oh, I'm gonna be a better man
G C D G
When I find gold, oh, I'm gonna be a better man for sure.”