Well his morning starts before the suns out
And he's lucky if he sees it rise
Cause that deep dark hollar that he goes down
To earn a dollar is dark as night

Yeah he's a coal, coal minin' man
Just like his dad and his dad before him
Yeah he's a coal, coal minin' man
Works with his hands, breaks his back
His lungs are black
That coal minin' man

Well that boss man he's always screamin'
And it echos through the mine
So that coal man takes out his frustrations
With a stick of good old dynamite

Yeah he's a coal, coal minin' man
Just like his dad and his dad before him
Yeah he's a coal, coal minin' man
Works with his hands, breaks his back
His lungs are black
That coal minin' man

After 12 long hours of working
Yeah he's hurtin' but he don't complain
He just goes on home to his woman
And she makes everything okay
He'll catch some sleep, then head out the next day

Cause he's a coal, coal minin' man
Just like his dad and his dad before him
Yeah he's a coal, coal minin' man
Works with his hands, breaks his back
His lungs are black
That coal minin' man