Old King Coal

Lyrics for Old King Coal

Many a man down in these here hills Made a living off that old black gold And now there ain't nothing but welfare and pills And the wind never felt so cold I'll be one of the first in a long long line Not to go down from that old black lung Yeah, my death will be slower than the rest of my kind And my life will be sadder than the songs they all sung Well now Old King Coal what are we gonna do When the mountains are gone and so are you? Well they come from the city to lend a hand Carrying signs saying, "Shut the mines down" We ain't looking for pity and you don't understand So go back to your city now 'cause this ain't your town And Old King Coal what are we gonna do When the mountains are gone and so are you? My Great Grandfather spent his days in a coal mine And his nights on the porch in his chair Now he's in heaven and down here in hell Where the rivers run muddy and the mountains are bare So Old King Coal what are we gonna do When the mountains are gone and so are you? Well now Old King Coal what are we gonna do When the mountains are gone and so are you?