11. Five Miles In And One Mile Down - Tim O'Brien

Five Miles In and One Mile Down
Songwriter : Dale Keys
Pouting Dog Music / ASCAP


Twenty nine dead down under the ground
Five miles in and one mile down
Five miles in and one mile down
Fire in the coal mine south of town
Too little too late we're asking why
Why it was that 29 died

Well way back when in '84
They told the owner of the mine you can't dig no more
You're breaking the rules and you gotta stop
Gotta think about the men bringing coal to the top
Gotta think about all those men who dig
But money's like mud to a corporate pig

Now the owner of the mine had cash in a stack
And a dirty politician who had his back
So he sent all the money up to DC
With a note that said rules ain't for me
The money changed hands and the rich men lied
Now there's a widow and her kids in an old double wide

An old double wide set back in the trees
Hound dog on the porch, widow on her knees
Prayin' to the lord now what'll I do
You took my man and I trusted you
I went to church, I sang in the choir
I prayed to you every wakin’ hour
You promised me everlasting life
Now I'm just a dead coal miner's wife

The owner of the mine didn’t seem to care
They found him slumped over in his chair
Said a hell of a way for a man to die
Gun in his lap bullet hole in his eye
They said it was him who let the hammer down
But his prints weren’t on the gun they found

Now, Judgment Day had come to pass
God dangled that man up above the shaft
The devil hollered up from down below
Send him on down, there's fire in the hole
Send him on down there’s fire in the hole
Send him on down we want his soul

So think about the miner when you turn on the light
Think about the miner when you wake at night
Pray for the miner when you're on your knees
Cause' number nine coal don't grow on trees