DOWN IN THE BLACK (OUTLAW COUNTRY) - Levi Stoker
Six feet down
Ain't so deep
Try 600
When the roof starts to groan
You learn to pray without words
The cage drops like a coffin
Into the belly of the earth
The air gets thick and heavy
It'll measure what you're worth
Got a lamp upon my helmet
And a prayer upon my tongue
Every breath I take down here
I know it ain't a young man's lung
The seam is black as midnight
The dust is in my teeth
I've been chipping at this mountain
Just to put food underneath
Lord I'm down in the black
Where the sun don't ever shine
With a pickaxe for my savior
And a conscience full of mine
I'm a sinner in a hole
Digging deeper toward the flame
But I'll bust this rock to pieces
Just to carve out my own name
Down in the black
Down in the black
Hear my hammer calling back
My pappy lost his partner
To a pocket full of gas
They carried him out silent
On a stretcher made of brass
The company man just shrugged his shoulders
Said that's the price we pay
But we ain't got no union
So we swallow it and stay
There's a canary in a cage
That sings sweeter than the choir
But if that bird stops singing boys
We're standing in the fire
Lord I'm down in the black
Where the sun don't ever shine
With a pickaxe for my savior
And a conscience full of mine
I'm a sinner in a hole
Digging deeper toward the flame
But I'll bust this rock to pieces
Just to carve out my own name
Down in the black
Down in the black
Hear my hammer calling back
Can I get a witness in this darkness
We got a witness
Can I get a hand upon the timber
We got the timber
Strike that coal till the angels hear it
The angels hear it
Lift your lamp and don't you fear it
Don't you fear it
We're coming up
We're coming up coming up
Out of the clay
Out of the clay
Lord I'm down in the black
Where the sun don't ever shine
With a pickaxe for my savior
And a conscience full of mine
I'm a sinner in a hole
Digging deeper toward the flame
But I'll bust this rock to pieces
Just to carve out my own name
Down in the black
Down in the black
Down in the black
Hear the hammer
Hear the hammer
Calling back
Calling back
From the black
Calling back
