Coal Dust and Uncle Sam

“Coal Dust & Uncle Sam” (Rock Country Song)

Verse 1

He gets up ‘fore the break of dawn,

Packs his lunch, thermos, and he’s gone,

Another day breathing that black coal dust.

Boss man barking like a junkyard hound,

Been riding my back since the sun ain’t found,

Another shift where breaking your back’s a must.

Got one kid fresh in his brand-new boots,

Got an old man saying, “Lord, I’m through,”

But we’re busting our backs all day long.

Up on the same old mountain side,

Where our granddaddies worked and gave their lives,

Still singing that same worn-out song.

Chorus

Yeah, it’s a hard life for a coal miner,

Sacrifice your whole damn life just trying to survive.

See your family for a few short hours,

Then do it all again by sunrise.

Broke down, tired as hell,

But can’t quit with Uncle Sam raising these bills.

So I lace these boots, head back up that hill—

Yeah, I’m a coal miner, through and through still.

Verse 2

Living check to check in this worn-out town,

Everything’s going up while my spirit’s going down.

Ain’t had a raise since I can’t recall.

Dust in my lungs, sweat in my eyes,

Dreams get buried where the daylight dies,

But I keep swinging at that mountain wall.

This old town don’t hand you much,

Just hard hands and a back that’s rough,

And memories carved in coal and stone.

Some men leave, but some men stay,

Shoveling all of life’s hell away,

Trying to make enough to make it home.

Chorus

Yeah, it’s a hard life for a coal miner,

Sacrifice your whole damn life just trying to survive.

See your family for a few short hours,

Then do it all again by sunrise.

Broke down, tired as hell,

But can’t quit with Uncle Sam raising these bills.

So I lace these boots, head back up that hill—

Yeah, I’m a coal miner, through and through still.

Bridge (rock build-up)

Black dust in my veins, mountain in my soul,

This life takes a lot, yeah, but it made me whole.

Ain’t asking for pity, ain’t asking for praise—

Just trying to keep food on the table another damn day.

Final Chorus

Yeah, it’s a hard life for a coal miner,

But these calloused hands were built for fire.

Through the sweat, through the pain,

Through the storms and the pouring rain.

Till this old body gives out for good,

I’ll be standing where my granddaddy stood.

Strap these boots on, one more ride—

Coal miner till the day I die.

Outro

Shoveling this life’s troubles away…

In the coal dust… day by day…