Here’s the mandolin tablature for the Bluegrass tune “The Gold Rush“. It was written by Bill Munroe and released as a single, under Decca Records, in 1967. The flip side was “Virginia Darlin”.
I could only find “The Gold Rush” on one LP. That earlier recording from 1967 was included on a compilation album titled “Bill Munroe’s Country Music Hall of Fame”. The album was released in the U.S. by Decca in 1971 to commemorate Munroe’s induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame the previous year. The Album was reissued, and released again in 1973 under the MCA Label. I couldn’t find a digital version of that recording anywhere.
The following version should be fairly straight forward. In the beginning of the 12th measure there’s a rest on the first beat (the down beat), and you hit the D double stop on the up stroke. After another full beat on that double stop, you do a beat on the A double stop (C# and E), then keep your index finger on the 6th fret to begin a little A scale run. Not terribly difficult, but it may take some practice to limber up the fingers on the left hand.
If that proves too difficult at first, or if you just want some variation, try substituting the following for the 12th and 16th measures.
Listen to The Gold Rush for mandolin:
The Gold Rush
key of A
Download:
Tablature and Music
Just the Music
Just the Tab
The Gold Rush has been recorded by many great artists over the years, and it’s definitely one of those Bluegrass tunes you want to learn. It’s a very well known fiddle tune, and a standard at many Bluegrass jam sessions.
