Grandad spent his life workin' in the mines
Filling up those coal cars, send ‘em down the line
Wonder what he'd think about how the world has changed
The hills of West Virginia loaded on a train
Shipping outta China 
Won't be back again

Coal train Coal train 
How long can you run?
Coal train Coal train 
How long, how long till there's none?
Loadin' up that mountain on the Norfolk Southern Line
Running to the ocean, coal pier # 9
Fillin' up those boats till their sinking low
Shipping out of Norfolk that Appalachian coal
Long as money changes hands every thing is fine
Meanwhile that coal train
Moves on down the line 
Coal train Coal train 
How long can you run?
Coal train Coal train 
How long, how long till there's none?
Lots of jobs and families dependin' on that coal
Governments and business look at it like gold
I need to run my toaster and my microwave
Big screen TV, laptop, kilowatts I crave
We can talk about if for a long, long time
Meanwhile that coal train
Moves on down the line 
Coal train Coal train 
How long can you run?
Coal train Coal train 
How long, how long
How long till there'sÂ….
Coal train Coal train 
How long can you run?
Coal train Coal train 
How long, how long
How long till there's none?