by Kevin Dudley, Valeria Stewart (Crooked Sparrow)
Cinder black, sparrow grey
The colors of a miner’s day
The hours drag like an ol’ coal train
Constant rumble of a steel refrain
My daddy gave all he had
Died last June with a shovel in his hand
Momma always waited for the worst
Said the news was a blessing but it felt like curse
Into the belly of the mountain, I go down
Every day I pray, I make it back out
I came into this world with nothing to lose
But I’ll be leaving with these miner’s blues
Like autumn leaves left to fate
Can’t put back what the companies’ take
When the claim’s played out, and the note comes due
The only thing left are these miner’s blues