C                3x2013
F                xx3213


[Verse 1]
        C
Well, I left my home and my one true love
C           G    Am
East of the Ohio River
C
My father said we'd never wed
C               G        Am
For I had me no gold nor silver

[Chorus]
       Em                   F
But my darling dear, please shed no tears
      C               G       Am
But I think that it's fair to warn ya'
     F      C       G          Am
That I'll return to claim your hand
      Em       F   C
As the King of California

[Verse 2]
      C
Over deserts hot and mountains cold
  C            G      Am
I traveled the Indian country
C
Whispering your name under lonesome skies
C              G    Am
Your memory my only company

[Chorus]
Em                         F
But my darling dear, please have no fear
      C               G            Am
But I think that it's fair to warn ya'
     F      C       G          Am
That I'll return to claim your hand
      Em       F   C
As the King of California

[Verse 3]
  C
I went up from Sacramento town
C      G      Am
To the Sierra gold fields
      C
And I worked my stake on a riverbank
C             G          Am
Dreaming just how a rich man feels

[Chorus]
      Em            F
So my darling dear, listen here
      C               G       Am
But I think that it's fair to warn ya'
     F      C       G          Am
That I'll return to claim your hand
       Em      F   C
As the King of California

[Verse 4]
         C
Now, the dead man's lying at my feet
C           G         Am
Who tried to steal my earnings
       C
Yet, I still recall your tender kiss
            C            G         Am
Though this bullet in my chest is burning

[Chorus]
      Em                   F
Oh my darling dear, please shed no tears
         C               G       Am
'Cause I think that it's fair to warn you
     F      C       G          Am
That I'll return to claim your hand
       Em      F   C
As the King of California
    F        C       G          Am
Yes I'll I return to claim your hand
      Em       F   C
As the King of California