Harlan County Coal Miner

Sure as mountain men make moonshine
Amongst the dense and towering pines
Dust coats his lungs like kudzu vine
It's useless for mama to beg or whine.

Every morning, she stands in the door
Hoping and praying, evermore
Waving goodbye, as dad looks back
Come home wet, filthy, and black?!

Crawling underground into the mine
Through all that muck and grime
The family needs to be fed
And, sister is soon be wed.

Daddy will never ever go in hock
Such filthy work should be a crime.
"It's all the work, I Know", he opines
Digging like a mole for precious rock

Deep down in the coal mine.