Owe my soul to the company store
The right one don't get you, then the left one will
I loaded sixteen tons of number nine coal
You see me comin', you better step aside
Another day older and deeper in debt
I picked up my shovel and I started to the mine
You load sixteen tons and what do you get?
Saint Peter, don't you call me 'cause I can't go
Muscle and blood and skin and bones
He loaded sixteen tons and what did he get?
Saint Peter, don't you call me 'cause I can't go
You load sixteen tons, what do you get?
A lotta men didn't and a lotta of 'em died
Another day older and deeper in debt
A mind that's a-weak and a back that's strong
The straw boss said, "Well, now bless his soul"
Owe my soul to the company store
I was born one mornin' when the sun didn't shine
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter, don't you call me 'cause I can't go
One fist of iron, the other one of steel
