In the deep dark hills of eastern Kentucky    That's the place where I trace my bloodline    And it's there I read on a hillside gravestone    You will never leave Harlan alive       Oh, my granddad's dad walked down Catron's Mountain    And he asked Tillie Helton to be his bride    Said, won't you walk with me out of the mouth of this holler    Or we'll never leave Harlan alive       Where the sun comes up about ten in the morning    And the sun goes down about three in the day    And you fill your cup with whatever bitter brew you're drinkin'   And you spend your life just thinkin' of how to get away       No one ever knew there was coal in them mountains    'Til a man from the Northeast arrived    Waving hundred dollar bills    Said, I'll pay you for your minerals    But he never left Harlan alive       Granny sold out cheap and they moved out west of Pineville    To a farm where big Richland River winds    I bet they danced them a jig, laughed and sang a new song    Who said we'd never leave Harlan alive       But the times got hard and tobacco wasn't selling    And ole granddad knew what he'd do to survive    He went and dug for Harlan coal    And sent the money back to granny    But he never left Harlan alive       Where the sun comes up about ten in the morning    And the sun goes down about three in the day    And you fill your cup with whatever bitter brew you're drinking    And you spend your life digging coal from the bottom of your grave       In the deep dark hills of eastern Kentucky    That's the place where I trace my bloodline    And it's there I read on a hillside gravestone    You will never leave Harlan alive