We get up in the black
Down the coal town road
And we hike along the track
Where the coal trains load
And we make the ponies pull
'Til they nearly break their backs
And we'll never see again
Down the coaltown road

We hear the whistle call
Down the coaltown road
And we take our towels and all
Where the coal trains load
In the cages then we drop
'Til there's nowhere else to fall
And we leave this world behind us
Down the coaltown road

We never see the sun
Down the coaltown road
At a penny for a ton
Where the coal trains load
When our shift comes up on top
We're so thankful to be done
We head home to sleep and dream 
About the coaltown road

The miners' little sons
Down the coaltown road
Playing with their cowboy guns
Where the coal trains load
But they'd better make the best
Of their childhood while it runs
There's a pick and shovel waiting
Down the coaltown road

If there's a God for us
Down the coaltown road
All the miners he can bless
Where the coal trains load
For we're sweating in the hole
Sucking down that Devil's dust
Just to keep the fires blazing
Down the coaltown road

We get up in the black
Down the coaltown road
And we hike along the track
Where the coal trains load
And we make the ponies pull
'Til they nearly break their backs
And we'll never see again
Down the coaltown road

And we make the ponies pull
'Til they nearly break their backs
And we'll never see again
Down the coal town road