We get up in the black Down the coal town road And we hike along the track Where the coal trains load And you make the ponies pull Till they almost break their backs And they'll never see again Down the coal town road.
We hear the whistle call Down the coal town road And we take our towels and all Where the coal trains load In the cages then we drop Till there's nowhere else to fall And we leave the world behind Down the coal town road.
We never see the sun Down the coal town road At a penny for the ton Where the coal trains roll When the shift comes up on top We're so thankful to be done We head home to sleep and dream About the coal town road.
There's miners' little sons Down the coal town road Playing with their cowboy guns Where the coal trains roll But they'd better make the best Of their childhood while it runs There's a pick and shovel waitin' Down the coal town road.
If there's a God for us Down the coal town road All the miners he can bless Where the coal trains roll For we're sweatin' in the hole Suckin' down that Devil's dust Just to keep the fires blazin' Down the coal town road.