Calico Coal

He was a miner in the Mojave

When boys were men and silver was king

In a twelve-year span, he worked his hand

Died of a dust lung there on that land

And if you look real close, you'll still see that black smoke

Burning Calico coal

Them gamblers sure loved Lucy Lane

She kept 'em fed on mining claims

Laid a blanket of ghosts over the town

So their bones rest rich there underground

And if you look real close, you'll still see that black smoke

Burning Calico coal

Where it all turns to ash

And the days seem to drag

Then they're gone 'fore you know it

Where the air is a-dry

And you're willing to die

For a rock in the furnace

They were buried never knowing cold

Burning Calico coal

Well, to this day, that silver cries

Where the mineral painted that mountainside

And legends laced in tobacco

Keep the light on, only way they know

Where it all turns to ash

And the days seem to drag

Then they're gone 'fore you know it

Where the air is a-dry

And you're willing to die

For a rock in the furnace

They were buried never knowing cold

And if you look real close, you'll still see that black smoke

Burning Calico coal