Joaquin the Horse-Thief
[AIR—Now I Warn All You Darkies Not To Love Her]

I suppose you have heard all the talkin',
Of the very noted horse-thief Joaquin;
He was caught in Calaveras, but he could'nt stand the joke,
So the rangers cut his head off, and have got it now in soak.

Chorus:
Now I warn every body not to ramble,
Never drink, never fight, never gamble,
For you'll never have a cent, all your money will spent,
And you to Sacramento to the prison brig be sent.

They took three-fingered Jack, and cut his hand off.
Then the Rangers drove the rest of the band off;
Then they took the head and hand, and they had it well preserved,
And the Rangers got the credit, which they very much deserved.
Now I warn every body not to ramble,
Never drink, never fight, never gamble,
For you'll never have a cent, all your money will spent,
And you to Sacramento to the prison brig be sent.

Joaquin to the mountains was advancing,
When he saw Lola Montez a dancing;
When she danced the spider dance, he was bound to run her off,
And he'd feed her eggs and chickens, make her cackle, crow and cough.
Now I warn every body not to ramble,
Never drink, never fight, never gamble,
For you'll never have a cent, all your money will spent,
And you Sacramento to the prison brig be sent.

Joaquin, just before he was taken,
Killed a Chinaman, and then stole his bacon;
Then he went to Sonora, where he killed eleven more.
And a big Digger Indian, which made the twenty-four.
Now I warn every body not to ramble,
Never drink, never fight, never gamble,
For you'll never have a cent, all your money will be spent,
And you to Sacramento to the prison brig be sent.

You have heard of the steel he wore round him,
I will tell you what it was when they found him,
'Twas a long-tom iron, to protect him in his crimes,
And they swore by the holes he'd been shot a thousund times.
Now I warn every body not to ramble.
Never drink, never fight, never gamble,
For you'll never have a cent, all your money will be spent,
And you to Sacramento to the prison brig be sent.

Now the head it can be seen at Sacramento,
But to have it there, they never did intend to;
For they fought like the d—l, while they had half a show,
But the Rangers put an end to the terror of Mexico.
Now I warn every body not to ramble,
Never drink, never fight, never gamble,
For you'll never have a cent, all your money will be spent,
And you to Sacramento to the prison brig be sent.


Put's Original California Songster, pp. 26-27

Lyrics (no tune) in Dwyer & Lingenfelter, The Songs of the Gold Rush, p. 147

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"thousund" is the way it's spelled in the book.

I'm guessing this song refers to the legendary California bandit Joaquin Murrieta (pronounced wah-KEEN).
-Joe-

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Click to play (pdmusic.org)

[Tune notes by Artful Codger]
The tune named is for the song "Julius' Bride" (sheet music from the Lester S. Levy Collection) "Arranged & Partly Composed By E.P. Christy."

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