You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive

In the deep dark hills of eastern Kentucky That's the place where I trace my bloodline And it's there I read on a hillside gravestone 'You will never leave Harlan alive' When my granddad's dad walked down Catron's Mountain And he asked Tillie Helton to be his bride He said, won't you walk with me out of the mouth of this holler? Or we'll never leave Harlan alive Where the sun comes up about ten in the morning And the sun goes down about three in the day And you fill your cup with whatever bitter brew you're drinkin' And you spend your life just thinkin' of how to get away Well no one ever knew there was coal in them mountains 'Til a man from the Northeast arrived Waving hundred dollar bills He said, I'll pay you for your minerals But he never left Harlan alive Well granny, she sold out cheap, and they moved out west of Pineville To a farm where big Rich Man River was And I bet they danced them a jig and laughed and sang a new song Who said we'd never leave Harlan alive? But the times, they got hard and tobacco wasn't selling And old granddad knew what he'd do to survive He went and dug for Harlan coal Sent the money back to granny, but he never left Harlan alive Where the sun comes up about ten in the morning And the sun goes down about three in the day And you fill your cup with whatever bitter brew you're drinkin' And you spend your life just thinkin' of how to get away And the sun comes up about ten in the morning And the sun goes down about three in the day And you fill your cup with whatever bitter brew you're drinking And you spend your life digging coal from the bottom of your grave In the deep dark hills of eastern Kentucky That's the place where I trace my bloodline And it's there I read on a hillside gravestone 'You'll never leave Harlan alive'