Coal Mining Man

Spent my whole life working in the mines
Twenty-seven years 'neath the Hemlock Pines
In Ol' Kentucky
I was only eighteen when I took the job
Just like my daddy and my grand-daddy did
Before for me

With dirty faces and calloused hands (ooh, ooh, ooh)
We worked these tunnels till we could barely stand (ooh, ooh, ooh)
Now they're closing up the mines (ooh, ooh, ooh)
Shutting down the plants (ooh, ooh, ooh)

There's no place left for a coal mining man (ooh, ooh, ooh)
There's no place left for a coal mining man (ooh, ooh, ooh)

When the jobs left town thought I'd do the same
But all I've ever known has been this place
And I can't seem to go
Toughest part is looking in Rose's eyes
And telling her it'll be alright
When I just don't know

With dirty faces and calloused hands (ooh, ooh, ooh)
We worked these tunnels till we could barely stand (ooh, ooh, ooh)
Now they're closing up the mines (ooh, ooh, ooh)
Shutting down the plants (ooh, ooh, ooh)

There's no place left for a coal mining man (ooh, ooh, ooh)
No place left for a coal mining man (ooh, ooh, ooh)

I can feel myself begin to disappear
My whole way of life is gone
Forgotten like a relic of yesteryear
I don't know how to keep moving on

Well, there's boarded up windows down on main street
There's men on the corner like scattered leaves
There's an air that weighs a ton
There's a sadness in my mama's eyes
And every time I cough I hear her cry
"Oh Lord, don't take my son"

With dirty faces and calloused hands (ooh, ooh, ooh)
We worked these tunnels till we could barely stand (ooh, ooh, ooh)
Now they're closing up the mines (ooh, ooh, ooh)
Shutting down the plants (ooh, ooh, ooh)

There's no place left for a coal mining man (ooh, ooh, ooh)
There's no place left for a coal mining man (ooh, ooh)