Come all you coal miners wherever you may be And listen to a story that I'll relate to thee My name is nothing extra, but the truth to you I'll tell I'm a coal miner's son. I'm sure I wish you well
I was born in old Kentucky, in a coal camp born and bred I know all about the pinto beans, bulldog gravy and corn bread And I know how the coal miners slave and work in the coal mines every day For a dollar in the company store, for that is all they pay
Coal mining is the most dangerous work in our land today With plenty of dirty, slaving work and very little pay Coal miner, won't you wake up and open your eyes and see What the dirty capitalist system is doing to you and me They take your very life's blood, they take our children's lives They take fathers away from children, and husbands away from wives Oh miner, won't you organize wherever you may be And make this land of freedom for workers like you and me
Dear miner, they will slave you till you can't work no more And what'll you get for your living but a dollar in the company store? A rundown shack to live in, snow and rain pours in the top You have to pay the company rent, your payin' never stops I am a coal miner's son. I'm sure I wish you well Let's sink this capitalist system in the darkest pits of hell