The Coal Miner

Coal mines in my daddy's day, Were dug with strong hands and back They got larger and deeper, As the lungs of the miners turned black Cave-ins, fires and explosions, Were my father’s daily fear. But what choice has a man When the wolf of hunger is near. With three small kids and a wife, There were five stomachs to fill As we lived in poverty, In our shack below a hill. I feel his blood within me, As the years of my life pass by, I'm proud that dad dug King Cole, For a miner so am I. Life to me is but a rose, Though it's thorns can make me cry. And like my dad before me, To my Lord I will not lie. In cold earth someday I’ll sleep, With a shinny stone above. Carved in it, shall be the words, "I have known the joy of love."