Lyrics:

Some say there's ghosts in the hills
And they're black as the coal
And voices they scream in the night from the deep dark below
There was poor Ivy and Scratch
And friends too many to name
Who were caught in a thundering landslide and there they'll remain
And I cry, "Oh Daddy, oh Dad don't go!"
But he won't be coming home, no
And Mother, dear Mom, don't you know
I'm feeling so old and alone
I'm the son next in line
For the black lung dyin'
And just a few come back from the Rocky Mountain mines
We're much too poor to escape
The weight of the earth
In tunnels and dust and fear, we will measure our worth
Here's our bones for the soil
Our blood for the land
Our souls for sweet Jesus, our bodies be damned
And I cried, "Oh Daddy, oh Dad don't go!"
But he won't be coming home, no
And Mother, dear Mom, don't you know
I'm feeling so old and alone
I'm the son next in line
For the black lung dyin'
And just a few come back from the Rocky Mountain mines
Well, sometimes I wonder where my Daddy's gone
But I know he's gone to the wilderness and he ain't comin' home
Then I get to wondering when it'll be my turn to lie down
In that lonesome place, Lord, down under the ground
It's said the mark of Cain is on the miner's head
And it don't wash with lye soap 'til he's good and he's dead
I saw my Daddy wave from the top of the hill
He said, "Come along, son," I say, "Soon I will"
And I cry, "Oh Daddy, oh Dad don't go!"
But he won't be coming home, no
And Mother, dear Mom, don't you know
I'm feeling so old and alone
'Cause I'm the son next in line
For the black lung dyin'
And just a few come back from the Rocky Mountain mines
And just a few come back from the Rocky Mountain mines