You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive

In the deep, dark hills of eastern Kentucky That's the place where I trace my bloodline And it's there I read on a hillside gravestone "You will never leave Harlan alive" Well my grandad's dad walked down Katahrin's Mountain And he asked Tillie Helton to be his bride He said, "Won't you walk with me out of the mouth of this holler Or we'll never leave Harlan alive" Where the sun comes up about ten in the morning And the sun goes down about three in the day And you fill your cup with whatever bitter brew your drinking And you spend your life just thinking how to get away No one ever knew there was coal in them mountains Til a man from the northeast arrived Waving hundred dollar bills, he said "I'll pay you for your minerals" But he never left Harlan alive Well Granny, she sold out cheap and they moved out west to Pineville To a farm where Big Richland River winds And I'll bet they danced them a jig, and they laughed and sang a new song "Who said we'd never leave Harlan alive?" But the times, they got hard and tobacco wasn't selling And old Granddad knew what he'd do to survive He went and dug for Harlan coal and sent the money back to Granny But he never left Harlan alive