California Gold: Northern California Folk Music from the Thirties, contains several older published versions of "The Days of Forty Nine."

1. Days of Forty-Nine, Lomax and Lomax, Cowboy and Other Frontier Ballads, 1938. Tom Moore mentioned.
2. Days ..., "To Old Hangtown or Bust," J. W. [Studebaker?], Placerville, CA, 1912. Tom Moore mentioned.
3. Days ..., Joaquin Miller, "The Gold Seekers of the Sierras, 1884. No mention of Tom Moore.
4. Days of ..., Lummis, Chas. F., ed., "Out West," 1903, pp. 202, 204. Mention of Tom Moore in one version.

Here is the 1884 text by Joaquin Miller, well-known poet. He probably originated the song; characters like Tom Moore added by others.

Lyr. Add: THE DAYS OF FORTY-NINE
By Joaquin Miller, 1884

We have worked our claims, we have spent our gold,
Our barks are astrand on the bars;
We are battered and old, yet at night we behold
Outcroppings of gold in the stars.

And though few and old, out hearts are bold;
Yet oft do we repine
For the days of old,
For the days of gold
For the days of Forty-Nine.

Chorus:
And though few and old, our hearts are bold,
Yet oft do we repine
For the days of old
For the days of gold,
For the days of Forty-Nine.

Where the rabbits play, where the quail all day
Pipe on the chapparal hill,
A few more days and the last of us lays
His pick aside and is still.

Though battered and old, our hearts are bold,
Yet oft do we repine
For the days of old,
For the days of gold,
For the days of Forty-Nine.

From "The Gold Seekers of the Sierras, Chap. VII, p. 68, Funk Wagnalls, New York, 1884. Needs to be checked for completeness against the writings of Joaquin Miller. The Lummis versions are based on this 1884 poem.