I was born on this mountain a long time ago Before they knocked down the timber and strip-mined the coal When you rose in the mornin' before it was light To go down in that dark hole and come back up at night
I was born on this mountain, this mountain's my home She holds me and keeps me from worry and woe Well, they took everything that she gave, now they're gone But I'll die on this mountain, this mountain's my home
I was young on this mountain but now I am old And I knew every holler, every cool swimmin' hole ‘Til one night I lay down and woke up to find That my childhood was over and I went down in the mine
There's a hole in this mountain and it's dark and it's deep And God only knows all the secrets it keeps There's a chill in the air only miners can feel There're ghosts in the tunnels that the company sealed.