Debby McClatchy recorded this on her 2003 CD, Chestnut Ridge. It was written as a reminiscence, 25 years after the California Gold Rush. Debby's CD booklet says the song was written in 1874, but the publication date I found in my source was 1878. Tune is the "common" version of "Auld Lang Syne.
-Joe Offer-


SONG OF THE ARGONAUTS
S.C. Upham, 1878

We are assembled here today, A band of Pioneers,
To celebrate with grateful hearts, Events of bygone years:
We come from hill and valley fair, Sierras capped with snow.
With kindly words we greet you now, Dear friends of long ago.

CHORUS
Oh, cherished be forevermore, The days of auld lang syne
Those golden days, remembered days, The days of Forty-Nine


Fresh laurel-wreaths we bring to-day, To crown the Patriarch,
Whose hand unlocked the golden ore, In gulch and cañon dark.
Old Pioneer thy name we still In all our hearts enshrine;
God's blessing rest upon thy head, Dear friend of auld lang syne!

We are a band of Argonauts, Erst from Eureka State.
By some the golden fleece was found, Whilst others mourned their fate.
We digged in gulch and delved in mine, From morn till setting sun,
With aching limbs and moistened brows — But perseverance won.

No maiden's voice, with cheering words, Was heard in mine or camp —
The miner's food was grizzly meat, And knot of pine his lamp.
But changes great have taken place, Since days of 'Forty-nine,
The miner now in comfort dwells, And kneels at woman's shrine.

Hillside, ravine and tulé marsh Now blossom as the rose,
And 'round Diablo's verdant base, The crystal streamlet flows.
Now glory be to God on high! Let this our paean be —
And peace on earth, good-will to man, Our prayer, O God, to Thee!


Text: "Song of the Argonauts, or The Days of 49," by Sam C. Upham (Philadelphia, 1978)
Music: "Auld Lang Syne," Good Old Songs. Transposed from G to E.

Source: The Songs of the Gold Rush, Lingenfelter & Dwyer