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 Katahrins 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 drinking And you spend your life just thinkin' of how to get away No one ever knew there was coal in them mountains Till a man from the Northeast arrived Waving hundred dollar bills he said I'll pay ya 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 just thinkin' of how to get away 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