I was born in Saginaw, Michigan
And I grew up in a house on Saginaw Bay
My daddy was a poor hard working Saginaw fisherman
Too many times he came home with too little pay

I loved a girl in Saginaw, Michigan
She was the daughter of a wealthy, wealthy man
But he called me, "That son of a Saginaw fisherman"
And not good enough to ever claim his daughter's hand

That's why I'm up here in Alaska looking around for gold
Like a crazy fool I'm a digging in the frozen ground, so cold
But with each new day I pray I'll strike it rich and then
I'll go back home and claim my love in Saginaw, Michigan

I wrote my love in Saginaw, Michigan
I said, "Honey, I'm a coming home, please wait for me
And you can tell your dad that I'm coming back a richer man
I've hit the biggest strike in Klondyke history"

Her dad met the bus in Saginaw, Michigan
And he gave me a great big party with champagne
Then he said, "Son, you're wise, young ambitious man
Why don't you sell your father-in-law your Klondyke claim?"

Now he's up there in Alaska digging in the cold, cold ground
That greedy fool is a looking for the gold I never found
But it serves him right and nobody here is missing him
Least of all the newly-weds of Saginaw, Michigan