Where the sun comes up about ten in the morning
'Til a man from the Northeast arrived
Well no one ever knew there was coal in them mountains
But he never left Harlan alive
That's the place where I trace my bloodline
And it's there I read on a hillside gravestone

He said, won't you walk with me out of the mouth of this holler?
To a farm where big Richland River winds

Sent the money back to granny but he never left Harlan alive
And you spend your life just thinkin' of how to get away
Where the sun comes up about ten in the morning
And the sun goes down about three in the day
Waving hundred dollar bills
And you fill your cup with whatever bitter brew you're drinking
Or we'll never leave Harlan alive
And it's there I read on a hillside gravestone
'You'll never leave Harlan alive'
And you fill your cup with whatever bitter brew you're drinkin'
Where the sun comes up about ten in the morning
He said, I'll pay you for your minerals

When my granddad's dad walked down Catron's Mountain

'You will never leave Harlan alive'
And you fill your cup with whatever bitter brew you're drinkin'

And he asked Tillie Helton to be his bride
Well granny, she sold out cheap and they moved out west of Pineville
And the sun goes down about three in the day
In the deep dark hills of eastern Kentucky
I bet they danced them a jig and laughed and sang a new song
But the times, they got hard and tobacco wasn't selling
And ole granddad knew what he'd do to survive
And you spend your life digging coal from the bottom of your grave
Who said we'd never leave Harlan alive?
And you spend your life just thinkin' of how to get away
And the sun goes down about three in the day
He went and dug for Harlan coal