Digging My Own Grave

From the break of dawn to sundown, my daddy worked the mine Well, the only time I saw his face was Sunday dinnertime He'd cough and cuss for hours as he washed the dirt away My mama always told him, "You're digging your own grave" Digging your own grave He swung that hammer 30 years 'til coal dust filled his lungs He never did breathe easy until his life was done Oh, just to feed the family, I had to take his place But I swore I wouldn't spend my life digging my own grave Digging my own grave Way back in the mountains, each man had to choose A life of crime or work in mine was all we ever knew So I spent the great depression down here over coal Until the day the timber caved and trapped me in this hole Trapped me in this hole There's no way they can hear me from a thousand feet down And God knows how quiet it is beneath the ground But even here I believe they'll hear me when I pray As I face my final hours digging my own grave Digging my own grave