Sunrise lightin' up the ridgetop
Slicin' through the frost like a red-hot knife
Sometimes I dream that I'm a' runnin across
But I couldn't now to save my life
Hound dog yippin' in the holler
Musta jumped a bear bubba, listen to him run
Somebody oughta catch him by the collar
But I ain't going nowhere cause I'm down with black lung
Black lung never gets better
Every breath a little bit harder to draw
Shotgun loaded in the corner
But I reckon I'm a' lie here and die of black lung
Some days are better than the other ones
Sit out on the porch when it's cool at night
Can't say there ain't them that I'm sufferin'
Every breath I take like a 12-round fight
Grandbabies out beneath the willow tree
Hollerin' and laughin' and it sounds like fun
Can't pick 'em up and hug their necks anyway
Sorry honey, Grandaddy's down with black lung
Black lung never gets better
Every breath a little bit harder to draw
Shotgun loaded in the corner
But I reckon I'm a' lie here and die of black lung
♪
Seems like it was only yesterday
I pulled my first shift in a long wall mine
First breath of fresh air at the whistle
And I already knew it's just a matter of time
If I'd have never been down in a coal mine
Lived a lot longer, hell that ain't a close call
But then again I'd a' never had anything
And half a life is better than nothin' at all
Black lung never gets better
Every breath a little bit harder to draw
Shotgun loaded in the corner
But I reckon I'm a' lie here and die of black lung
Black lung never gets better
Every breath a little bit harder to draw
Shotgun loaded in the corner
But I reckon I'm a' lie here and die of black lung
Black lung never gets better
Every breath a little bit harder to draw
Shotgun loaded in the corner
But I reckon I'm a' lie here and die of black lung