The Country Gentlemen - A Miner's Life lyrics

My aging dad before me and my brothers all in line When I turned 17 I went down in the mines A battery lamp upon my head, steel toes upon my feet And a bucket in my hand with bread and potted tea My lungs are filling every day with dust they call black d**h You think of it don't say though each time you take a breath You know have to stay down there, there's nothing else to do When you have no life above the ground, what's a miner's son to do Chorus: When living in West Virginia You only get one go Burrow in beneath the ground And dig the old black coal You work the job, you eat the dust, you pay back all your debts The company store's bill caught up, I guess you done your best When the doctor calls he has the news, your tests have all come back There's no more underground for you, your lungs have both turned black The years pa**ed, the miner died, they laid him in the ground His son looked down upon the grave in the churchyard of the town "Dad I know I promised you, those words cannot hold true When the whistle blows at 5 o'clock, what's a miner's son to do?" Chorus: When living in West Virginia You only get one go Burrow in beneath the ground And dig the old black coal