COAL TOWN ROAD

We get up in the black
Down the coal town road
And we hike along the track
Where the coal trains load
And we make the ponies pull
Till they nearly 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 this world behind us
Down the coal town road

We never see the sun
Down the coal town road
At a penny for a ton
Where the coal trains load
When our shift comes up on top
We're so thankful to be done
We head home to sleep and dream 
Down the coal town road

There's miners' little sons
Down the coal town road
Playing with their cowboy guns
Where the coal trains load
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 load
For we're sweatin' in the hole
Suckin' down the Devil's dust
Just to keep the fires blazin'
Down the coal town road

We get up in the black
Down the coal town road
And we hike along the track
Where the coal trains load
And we make the ponies pull
Till they nearly break their backs
And they'll never see again
Down the coal town road