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