I wake ‘fore the break of dawn,
Pick in hand, life goes on.
In the shaft the sun don’t rise,
Making a living with a blackened mind. Air is heavy, and the danger’s real,
Steel-toed boots and nerves of steel.
Every step is carved in stone,
Way down we go. The coal dust clings,
and the caged bird sings.
Mountain grinding slow,
Way down, we go. Many young men worked this ground,
Buried dreams where the seams are found.
Every breath is a borrowed loan,
Paid in sweat till our names are known. Our hands are rough, and our hearts beat true,
Built the towns, the world once knew.
the deeper we dig, the less we own,
Way down we go. The coal dust clings,
and the caged bird sings.
Mountain grinding slow,
Way down, we go. Way Way Down we go