COAL DUST
© Nitanee Paris, Clarence Ellwood Lawson, Jean-Pierre Williams
Verse 1
There’s a story as old as the soot black hills
But the blood in my veins remembers it still
He was born in a shack in a shanty town
That old place gave up long before they tore it down
The air was thick as smoke at dawn
When the morning train ran through his yard
And he knew each day that he might dig his grave
But he had seven mouths to feed
And nothing’s ever guaranteed
So he went down with his shovel anyway
PreChorus
And when I breathe in
His story follows me
Frayed and worn out pages
In my history
Chorus
When the coal dust settled down
In that dark and dirty town
And nighttime finally came around
Whiskey washed the worry down
I’ve never been inside the mine
But it’s part of me
Coal dust blowing all around
My family tree
Verse 2
The company didn’t care about the men
Who had to climb to hell and back again
Sometimes that old mine would cost a man his life
But sixteen tons of coal was worth the price
When the walls caved in he had to dig himself
No one came to pull him out
And he prayed his tired lungs could hold his breath
His mind was quick, his hands were strong
And he hoped he’d live to see the dawn
In the underground river’s tar black depths
Chorus
When the coal dust settled down
In that dark and dirty town
And nighttime finally came around
Whiskey washed the worry down
I’ve never been inside the mine
But it’s part of me
Coal dust blowing all around
My family tree
Bridge
What a man will do for the love of his kin
He didn’t die in that old mine but it followed him
An old familiar cough and stains that wont come off
I watched the man of steel as he turned to rust
Chorus
When the coal dust settled down
In that dark and dirty town
And nighttime finally came around
Whiskey washed the worry down
I’ve never been inside the mine
But it’s part of me
Coal dust blowing all around
My family tree