(Darrell James Scott)
In the deep dark hills of eastern Kentucky
That's the place where I traced my bloodline
And it's there I read on a hillside gravestone
"You'll never leave Harlan alive."
Oh, my grandfather's dad crossed the Cumberland Mountains
Where he took a pretty girl to be his bride
Said, "Won't you walk with me out the mouth of this holler
Or we'll never leave Harlan alive."
Where the sun comes
up about ten in the mornin'
And the sun goes down about three in the day
And you'll fill your cup with whatever bitter brew you're drinkin'
And you spend your life just thinkin' of how to get away.
No one ever knew there was coal in them mountains
Till 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.
Grandma sold out cheap and they moved out west of
Pineland
To a farm where Big Richmond River winds
And I bet they danced them a jig and they laughted and sang a new song
"Who said we'd never leave Harlan alive."
--- Instrumental ---
But the times they got hard and tobacco wasn't selling
And old grandad knew what he'd do to survive
He went and dug for Harlan coal and sent the money back to grandma
But he never left Harlan alive.
Where the sun comes up about ten in the mornin'
And the
sun goes down about three in the day
And you'll fill your cup with whatever bitter brew you're drinkin'
And you spend your life diggin' coal from the bottom of your grave.
Mhm, mhm, you'll never leave Harlan alive...
This song is from the album "Mountain Soul".
Clean Lyric
Paragraph Lyric
568
In the deep dark hills of Eastern Kentucky
That's the place where I traced my bloodline
And
it's there I read on a hillside gravestone
"You'll never leave Harlan alive"
Oh my grandfather's Dad crossed the Cumberland Mountains
Where he took a pretty girl to be his bride
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 mornin'
And the sun goes down about three in the day
And you'll fill your cup with whatever bitter brew you're drinkin'
And you spend your life
just thinkin' of how to get away
No one ever knew there was coal in them mountains
Till a man from the northeast arrived
Waving hundred dollar bills, said, "I'll pay you for your minerals"
But he never left Harlan alive
Grandma sold out cheap and they moved out west of Pike ville
To a farm where Big Richland River winds
And I bet they danced them a jig and they laughed and sang a new song
"Who said we'd never leave Harlan alive"
But the times got hard
and tobacco wasn't selling
And old Granddad knew what he'd do to survive
He went and dug for Harlan coal and sent the money back to Grandma
But he never left Harlan alive
Where the sun comes up about ten in the mornin'
And the sun goes down about three in the day
And you'll fill your cup with whatever bitter brew you're drinkin'
And you spend your life digging coal from the bottom of your grave
You'll never leave Harlan alive
568
In the deep dark hills of Eastern Kentucky That's the place where I traced my bloodline And it's there I read on a hillside gravestone "You'll never leave Harlan alive" Oh my grandfather's Dad crossed the Cumberland Mountains Where he took a pretty girl to be his bride 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 mornin' And the sun goes down about three in the day And you'll fill your cup with whatever bitter brew you're drinkin' And you spend your life just thinkin' of how to get away No one ever knew there was coal in them mountains Till a man from the northeast arrived Waving hundred dollar bills, said, "I'll pay you for your minerals" But he never left Harlan alive Grandma sold out cheap and they moved out west of Pike ville To a farm where Big Richland River winds And I bet they danced them a jig and they laughed and sang a new song "Who said we'd never leave Harlan alive" But the times got hard and tobacco wasn't selling And old Granddad knew what he'd do to survive He went and dug for Harlan coal and sent the money back to Grandma But he never left Harlan alive Where the sun comes up about ten in the mornin' And the sun goes down about three in the day And you'll fill your cup with whatever bitter brew you're drinkin' And you spend your life digging coal from the bottom of your grave You'll never leave Harlan alive
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