Intro - (No chords) In the deep dark hills of Eastern Kentucky Thats the place where I traced my bloodline And its there I read on a hillside gravestone You'll never leave Harlen alive Oh my Grandfathers Dad crossed the Cumberland Mountains Where he took a pretty girl to be his bride Said "Won't you walk with me out of the mouth of this holler Or we'll never leave Harlen alive" Where the sun comes up about ten in the mornin 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 Till a man from the northeast arrived Wavin hundred dollar bills Said "I'll pay for your minerals" But he never left Harlen alive Grandma sold out cheap and they moved out west of Pineville To a farm where Big Richland River winds And I bet they danced them a jig And they laughed and sang a new song "Who said we'd never leave Harlen alive" But the times got hard and tobacco wasn't sellin And old Granddad knew what he'd do to survive He went and dug for Harlan coal And sent the money back to Grandma But he never left Harlen alive Where the sun comes up about ten in the mornin 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 diggin coal from the bottom of your grave Mmmmmmmm You'll never leave Harlen alive