Kentucky Coal Miner's Prayer Chords

Lyrics & chords

[Verse 1]
[D]Deep in the mountai[Em]n of[G]
Harlan [D]County
Employed by the [Em]Cumberland
[G]coal company
[D]The pay is [Em]short, the[G] days are long[D]
But our labor uni[Em]on laws
[G]are coming on [D]strong
So I [Em]drink this whiskey [G]for my throat
[D]Wear my hard hat

[Verse 2]
and weathered coat
[Em]Early every morning [G]I stand in line
[A]Waiting to work these Kentucky coal [D]mines

[Verse 3]
[D]
We enter [Em]the shaft [G]around five thi[D]rty
With two dozen [Em]hands, [G]cold,
callused and [D]dirty
We'll dig through a [Em]mil lion tons
[G]of rock and[D] clay
And we'll still be [Em]dig ging
[G]at the end of the day[D]
Down [Em]on our knees we confe[G]ss our sins
And [D]pray that the roof above don't cave in

[Verse 4]
So [Em]bless our hearts and [G]save or souls
And the [A]air we breathe down
in the [D]devil's hole
[F#m]Just last week when t[G]he the ceiling fell
The explo[D]sion trapped us
in the depths of hell

[Verse 5]
The [F#m]weight of the earth took
poor [G]Tucker's life
[D]Leaving behind a hungry [A]baby and [D]wife
[Em][G][D][Em][G][D]
[Em][G][D][Em][G][D]
We dug [Em]out w[G]ith our shovels
and [D]picks
But soon enough [Em]the black lung
[G]disease will make us [D]sick

[Verse 6]
So bless our [Em]hearts [G]and save or sou[D]ls
And the air we [Em]breathe [G]down
in the devil's [D]hole
I work deep in the moun[Em]tains
[G]of eastern Kentucky[D]

[Verse 7]
[D]I know if I leave Harlan a[Em]live[G]
I'll [D]be more than lucky
Wish I could go [Em]to Texas [G]and
plant some cot[D]tonseed
But moving takes [Em]money [G]and I've
got three mouths [D]to feed
So [Em]I drink this whiskey [G]for my throat
[D]Wear my hard hat and weathered coat
[Em]Early every morning I [G]stand in line
[A]Waiting to work another Kentucky coal mine

[Outro 1]
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[Em][G]
[D][Em][G][D][Em]
[G][D][Em][G][D][Em]
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