A Miner's Life

My aging dad before me and my brothers all in line,
When I turned 17 I went down in the mines.
A battery lamp upon my head, steel toes upon my feet,
And a bucket in my hand with bread and potted tea.

My lungs are filling every day with dust they call black death,
You think of it don't say though each time you take a breath,
You know 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

Chorus:
When living in West Virginia,
You only get one go,
Burrow in beneath 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's bill caught up, I guess you 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 the grave in the churchyard of the town.
"Dad I know I promised you, those words cannot hold true,
When the whistle blows at 5 o'clock, what's a miner's son to do?"

Chorus:
When living in West Virginia,
You only get one go,
Burrow in beneath the ground
And dig the old black coal