Oh, can't you see that pretty little bird
Singing with all his heart and soul?
He's got a blood red spot on his wing
And all the rest of him's black as coal

Of all the colors I ever did see
Red and black are the ones I dread
For when a man spills blood on the coal
They carry him down from the coal mines dead

Oh, fly away you red-winged bird
Leave behind the miner's wife
She'll dream about you when you're gone
She'll dream about you all her life

Oh, can't you see that pretty little bird
Singing with all his heart and soul?
He's got a blood-red spot on his wing
And all the rest of him's black as coal