Blue Diamond Mines - Kathy Mattea
I remember the ways
In the bygone days
When we were in our prime
How us and John L
Give the old man hell
Down in the blue diamond mine
Well the whistle blowed
And the rooster crowed
Two hours before daylight
When a man done his best
And he earned his good rest
Had seventeen dollars at night
In the mines in the mines
In the blue diamond mines
I worked my life away
In the mines in the mines
In the blue diamond mines
Oh fall on your knees and pray
You old black gold
You've taken my lungs
And your dust
Has darkened my home
And now that we're old
You're turning your back
Where else
Can an old miner go
Well it's algomer block
And it's big leather woods
And now it's blue diamond too
Well the pits are all closed
And it's get another job
What else
Can an old miner do
In the mines in the mines
In the blue diamond mines
I worked my life away
In the mines in the mines
In the blue diamond mines
Oh fall on your knees and pray
John L had a dream
But it's broken it seems
Mining has had it's day
But they're stripping off
My mountain top
And they pay me eight dollars a day
And I get a little poke
Of welfare meal
A little poke of welfare flour
But I tell ya right now
You won't qualify
'Til you work
For a quarter an hour
In the mines in the mines
In the blue diamond mines
I worked my life away
In the mines in the mines
In the blue diamond mines
Oh fall on your knees and pray
