When that whistle blows each morning
And I go down in that cold dark mine
I say a prayer to my dear savior
Please let me see the sunshine one more time.
Oh when Oh when will this be over
When will I lay these burdens down?
And when I die, dear lord in heaven
Please take my sould from 'neath that cold dark ground
I still grieve for my poor brother
And I hear my dear old mother cry
Late that night when they came to tell her
He'd lost his life down in the Big Shoal mine.
* Refrain
I have no shame, I'll feel no sorrow
If on this earth not much do I own
I have the love of my sweet children
An old plow mule a shovel and a hoe
* Refrain