Harlan County

In the back hills of Kentucky I was raised
 In a shack on Big Bone Mountain
 Born into poverty, bathed in misery
 The times I went hungry you can't count 'em
 Where the cold winds blow and the crops don't grow
 A man's tired of livin' when he's twenty
 I was diggin' hard coal at twelve years old
 Way down in Harlan County
 Mama tried hard, poor ol' Daddy got tired
 Couldn't even get a job with a shotgun
 One winter I was out cuttin' kindlin'
 The news came to Mama that mornin'
 They had a penny ante poker game down at the junction
 Big Jack caught Daddy cheatin' and he shot him
 Over fifteen cents
 To buy a loaf of bread with
 We are gathered here today to ask the Lord
 To take us out of Harlan County
 Mama married Willie
 He stood five-six
 His brother was a shovel and a coal mine pick
 With the heart of a lion and the soul of a man
 He worked twelve hours a day
 Seven days ever' week
 Forty days ever' month
 Diggin' for a bone in a hillside
 Where a little child's dream is a new pair of shoes
 To keep its little feet warm in the winter
 But dreams they don't ever come true, I know
 Way down in Harlan County
 You know what I did folks?
 I'm gonna tell ya
 I put the shirt on my back
 In a brown paper sack
 A big piece of my Mama's cold cornbread
 I hit the road Jack
 Forgot to look back
 I walked all the way down to somewhere
 I've been all over this whole wide world
 I've slept on a northwest mounty
 The coldest place, Lord, I've ever seen
 Is the hills back in Harlan County
 Everybody bow their heads in prayer and ask the Lord
 To take us out of Harlan County
 Lord want you please
 Let your light shine
 Let your light shine