Miner's End - Viacheslav Pakalin

Dwight Yoakam & Ralph Stanley When the whistle blows each morning And I walk down in that cold, dark mine I say a prayer to my dear Saviour Please let me see the sunshine one more time Chorus: When oh when will it be over When will I lay these burdens down And when I die, dear Lord, in heaven Please take my soul from 'neath that cold, dark ground Instrumental I still grieve for my poor brother And I still hear my dear old mother cry When late that night they came and told her He'd lost his life down in the Big Shoal Mine Chorus: When oh when will it be over When will I lay these burdens down And when I die, dear Lord, in heaven Please take my soul from 'neath that cold, dark ground Instrumental I have no shame, I feel no sorrow If on this earth not much I own I have the love of my sweet children An old plow mule, a shovel and a hoe Chorus: When oh when will it be over When will I lay these burdens down And when I die, dear Lord, in heaven Please take my soul from 'neath that cold, dark ground Yeah when I die, dear Lord, in heaven Please take my soul from 'neath that cold, dark ground

Deep in the mountain of Harlan County Employed by the Cumberland coal company Well the pay is short and the days are long But our labor union laws are coming on strong So I drink this whiskey for my throat Wear my hard hat and weathered coat Early every morning I stand in line Waiting to work another Kentucky coal mine We enter the shaft around five thirty With two dozen hands, cold, calloused and dirty We'll dig through a million tons of rock and clay And we'll still be digging at the end of the day Down on our knees we confess our sins And pray that the roof above don't cave in So bless our hearts and save our souls And the air we breathe down in the devil's hole Just last week when the the ceiling fell The explosion trapped us in the depths of hell The weight of the earth took poor Tucker's life Leaving behind a hungry baby and wife We dug out with our shovels and picks But soon enough the black lung disease will make us all sick So bless our hearts and save our souls And the air we breathe down in the devil's hole I work deep in the mountains of eastern Kentucky I know if I leave Harlan alive, I'll be more than lucky Wish I could go to Texas and plant some cottonseed But moving takes money and I've got three mouths to feed So I drink this whiskey for my throat Wear my hard hat and weathered coat Early every morning I stand in line Waiting to work another Kentucky coal mine