Every day we leave the light
For the world below
The way our fathers' fathers did
A hundred years ago

With blackened hands and tired eyes
Accustomed to the dark
We swing the cold-forged picks
'Til the walls begin to spark

Now and forever
Our number it is nine
We live or die together
In a Pennsylvania coal mine

What is that I hear?
A warning shout
"Water's coming in
Get out! Get out! Get out!"

There's no escape for us
This dungeon is too deep
We think of those we love
Our courage we must keep

But the cry, "The water's rising!"
Sent a shiver down my spine
We live or die together
In a Pennsylvania coal mine

Two hundred feet above us
We make a resolution
To live or die as one

Hard-hearted limestone
Will not let them through
Still the water's rising
And there's nothing we can do

Now and forever
Our number it is nine
All tied together
In a Pennsylvania coal mine

What is that, oh Lord?
Is it an angel's face I see?
No, wait, these are the arms of men
I feel lifting me

Then I'll see my darling
To her the tales I'll tell
Of all the silent prayers
And letters of farewell

I won't sleep tonight
I won't close my eyes
'Til I see the morning light
The sweet sun rise

And when someday I die
And they lay me in the ground
My soul shall rise and it will be
The second time around