Tommy Knockers In The Vein

[Verse 1]
Lantern swingin’ like a hangman’s rope
Boots on rails, I taste the dust
Old man said “boy, the gold ain’t hope
It’s just another kind of rust”
Shovel hits bone or maybe stone
Hard to tell this deep in hell
Hear a tap-tap-tap on the broken ore
Like a fingernail on a church bell
[Chorus]
Tommy knockers in the vein
Tap my name in the black rock vein
Sayin’ “dig boy, deeper, we’ll ease your pain”
But the deeper that I go, the less I feel sane
Tommy knockers in the vein
[Verse 2]
Cards and whiskey in the bunkhouse blue
They laugh it off, but their hands still shake
Every man here’s heard that knock
Right before the timber breaks
I saw eyes glow where the light won’t reach
Tiny teeth in a crooked grin
Little shadows crawlin’ up the tunnel wall
Whisperin’, “you ain’t leavin’ again” (uh-huh)
[Chorus]
Tommy knockers in the vein
Tap my name in the black rock vein
Sayin’ “dig boy, deeper, we’ll ease your pain”
But the deeper that I go, the less I feel sane
Tommy knockers in the vein
[Bridge]
I piled up gold by the wooden tracks
More than a poor man ought to own
Still I hear ‘em drumming on the fractured backs
Of every man this mine has stolen
[Chorus]
Tommy knockers in the vein
Tap my name in the black rock vein
Sayin’ “dig boy, deeper, we’ll ease your pain”
When the roof comes down like a runaway train
They’ll be singin’ soft over my remains
Tommy knockers in the vein

country, Grim outlaw country with male vocals; low-tuned acoustic and baritone guitar over a slow, dragging kick and brushed snare. Distant tremolo electric swells and mournful pedal steel hang like fog. Verses stay hushed and close-mic’d, chorus widens with gang-style harmonies and a gritty bass throb. Subtle reverb makes the mine feel cavernous; final chorus strips to voice and guitar, then ends on a single, ringing chord.