I was born on this mountain
a long long time ago
before they knocked down the timber
and stripped mined all the coal
when you rose up in the morning
before it was light
to go down in that dark hole
and come back up at night
I was born on this mountain
this mountain’s my home
she holds me and she keeps me
from a worry and a woe
well they took everything she gave
she gave it now she’s gone
but I’ll die on this mountain
this mountain’s my home
I was young on this mountain
but now I am old
and I knew every holler
every cool swimmin’ hole
til a one night I lay down
and I woke up to find
that my childhood was over
I went back down in the mine
There’s a hole in this mountain
it’s dark and it’s deep
and God only knows
all the secrets that it keeps
there’s a chill in the air
only miners can feel
there’re ghosts in the tunnels
that the company sealed