Intro: They learned readin', writin', Route 23 To the jobs that lay waiting in those cities' factories they didn't know that that old highway Could lead them to a world of misery Have you ever been down Kentucky way Say south of Prestonburg Have you ever been up in a holler Have you ever heard A mountain man cough his life away From diggin' that black coal In those dark mines, those old dark mines If you had you might just understand The reason that they left is all behind Chorus: