Black Lung Blues by The Wages of Sin Lyrics
My granddaddy was a miner
Union through and through
Weighed two-hundred and fifty pounds
Stood about six foot two
Toe to toe with the Pinkertons
With their dogs and with their guns
Stand and fight
Until the fightin's done
Sent replacement workers
To break the union man
Granddaddy left that evenin'
Axe handle in his hand
Came back eight hours later
Blood from head to toe
Said they'll never cross
A union line no more
And the coal runs deep
Down in Butcher Hollow
Many a man went down the mine
Many a son did follow
And they never had no vices
'Cept dice and whores and booze
And at fifty-one they died
Of the black lung blues
My daddy was a miner
Like his daddy and his daddy before
Told me son you're gonna use your brain
Yeah, you're gonna have somethin' more
There's nothin' here but back break
Coal just on your tongue
Mother, wife
A widow much too young
And the coal runs deep
Down in Butcher Hollow
Many a man went down the mine
Many a son did follow
And they never had no vices
'Cept dice and whores and booze
And at fifty-one they died
Of the black lung blues
My daddy caught the black lung
The year that I quit school
Coughin' blood as black as tar
He said I was a fool
We buried him on Sunday
Drank to closin' time
On Monday I went down
Into the mine
It's been twenty years of workin'
My fingers to the bone
Provided for my family
My wife, my kids, my home
Seems like every wakin' hour
Been spent down in this hole
Until the blood runs blacker
Than the coal
It was twenty years this mornin'
When the main shaft caved in
Been down here eighteen hours
And the air is gettin' thin
So get on your knees and pray, boys
'Cause this is God's own truth:
None of us are gonna die
Of the black lung blues
And the coal runs deep
Down in Butcher Hollow
Many a man went down the mine
Many a son did follow
And they never had no vices
'Cept dice and whores and booze
And at fifty-one they died
Of the black lung blues
Union through and through
Weighed two-hundred and fifty pounds
Stood about six foot two
Toe to toe with the Pinkertons
With their dogs and with their guns
Stand and fight
Until the fightin's done
Sent replacement workers
To break the union man
Granddaddy left that evenin'
Axe handle in his hand
Came back eight hours later
Blood from head to toe
Said they'll never cross
A union line no more
And the coal runs deep
Down in Butcher Hollow
Many a man went down the mine
Many a son did follow
And they never had no vices
'Cept dice and whores and booze
And at fifty-one they died
Of the black lung blues
My daddy was a miner
Like his daddy and his daddy before
Told me son you're gonna use your brain
Yeah, you're gonna have somethin' more
There's nothin' here but back break
Coal just on your tongue
Mother, wife
A widow much too young
And the coal runs deep
Down in Butcher Hollow
Many a man went down the mine
Many a son did follow
And they never had no vices
'Cept dice and whores and booze
And at fifty-one they died
Of the black lung blues
My daddy caught the black lung
The year that I quit school
Coughin' blood as black as tar
He said I was a fool
We buried him on Sunday
Drank to closin' time
On Monday I went down
Into the mine
It's been twenty years of workin'
My fingers to the bone
Provided for my family
My wife, my kids, my home
Seems like every wakin' hour
Been spent down in this hole
Until the blood runs blacker
Than the coal
It was twenty years this mornin'
When the main shaft caved in
Been down here eighteen hours
And the air is gettin' thin
So get on your knees and pray, boys
'Cause this is God's own truth:
None of us are gonna die
Of the black lung blues
And the coal runs deep
Down in Butcher Hollow
Many a man went down the mine
Many a son did follow
And they never had no vices
'Cept dice and whores and booze
And at fifty-one they died
Of the black lung blues