I cough black blood on a white handkerchief
Like every morning, going down the mine
My body coated with a black dust, all over
My stomach hurts in hunger, lungs blanketed
Work 12 hours a day, collapse the rest of time
The world functions on fuel, coal the mother
I wake up and do it again, the next day too
West Virginia is poor, and I'm even poorer
I know that this is my job, one I have to do
This isn't easy, but every day I am dying
But I have a family, I have to keep trying
But the cycle of work I am in, it isn't new
To live I must work, the world needs fuel
The world doesn't know my name
And my family barely sees me
But I have a job, and do it
Still, my life's a shame
Every moment spent in pain
And still the need goes on
The need for energy constant
Others will live as I have done
With a life spent like spit
