A Miner's Life

My agin' dad before me, mMy brothers all in line
When I turned seventeen, I went down in the mines
A battery lamp upon my head, steel toes upon my feet
Dinner bucket in my hand with bread and potted me

My lungs are fillin' everyday with dust they call black death
You think of it, don't say you don't, each time you take a breath
You know you have to stay down there, there's nothing else to do
When you have no life above the ground, what's a miner's son to do?

But livin' in West Virginia, you only got one goal
Burrow underneath the ground and dig the old black coal

You work the job, you eat the dust, you pay back all your debts
The company store bill's caught up, I guess you've done your best
When the doctor calls he has the news, your tests have all come back
There's no more underground for you, your lungs have both turned black

The years passed, the miner died, they laid him in the ground
His son looked down upon a grave in a churchyard above town
Dad, I know I promised you, these words cannot hold true
When the whistle blows at five o'clock, what's a miner's son to do?

But livin' in West Virginia, you only got one goal
Burrow underneath the ground and dig the old black coal