Folk & Traditional Song Lyrics www.traditionalmusic.co.uk The Ol' Ginny Mine 
The Ol' Ginny Mine (Daisy L. Detrick) 
Yep, gold's where you find it. You betcha that's true This happened at Alma 'long 'bout eighty-two Jim Haley'd been prospectin' year after year From springtime to snow, and it seemed sorta queer 
That a gambler from Leadville would grubstake Ol' Jim To make one more try with the chances so slim But he did. Well, the weather warmed up some in May And Jim headed Ginny up Mosquito Pass way
 Say, you are a tenderfoot now, fer a fac' Why, a Jinny's a lazy, low-down lady Jack A burro, to tote your bed-blankets and jeans Your sow-belly, coffee, flour, baccy, and beans Your coffee pot, fryin' pan -- Lord knows what more And a diamond hitch holds 'em behind and before 
Jim thought Dead Horse Gulch was the likeliest place But he hunted for weeks without findin' a trace Of the gold-bearin' quartz vein he hoped would crop out Like the ones folks in Leadville had gone wild about 
Ol' Jim was sure blue, fer it soon would be fall And he and the gambler had nothin' at all He prodded the Jinny across a rock ledge She crowded him over too close to the edge 
That was crumblin' because of the frost and the snow And over they rolled to the slope down below Where a clump of pines stopped 'em, but they started a slide That roared down the mountain a hundred yards wide 
Not a bone did Jim break, but his head got a rap That put him to sleep fer a sizeable nap He woke with a thump in his grizzled ol' head So stiff and so sore that he wished he was dead 
He heard a long bray, and there on the trail Was Jinny, jes' lazily switchin' her tail With nary a pack. Her long ears flapped at Jim Like the hull thing was funny and the joke was on him 
It sure made Jim mad. He reached out fer a rock He'd give that wench Jinny one gosh awful sock He bet she'd remember! But the rock in his hand Never stung Jinny's rump as Ol' Jim had planned 
In the sunshine the quartz shone with webs of free gold Those two had uncovered the vein when they rolled Down the mountain and started the slide. Jinny knew And pushed him, Jim said. I won't say it ain't true 
Fer gold's where you find it. If a burro helps -- fine! They dug out a lot from that Ol' Jinny mine. 
Daisy Detrick was president of the Poetry Society of Colorado. Make a tune for it. JN JN apr96