Black Lung

My daddy he worked in a coal mine

Twenty years nine to five

It was dark

And he died

Darker than the lung

Inside

Darker than his face

When he stepped out into the night

Wiped the dust from his eyes

They said I cried

But I don’t remember

The day that he died

I was nine

It was the day before his birthday

And the day after mine

Oh it was the day after mine

Just in between

Isn’t it funny how we like

To create this balance in life sometimes

With a six pack of beer

He was spittin’ in a tin

And kissing my mama goodnight

And she said to breathe

But his lungs were full

Of something instead of air

She watched him fall

It was sort of sweetly

Neath the firelight

Over the arm of his chair

And she said to breathe

But his lungs were full

Of something instead of air

It was sort of sweetly

She watched him fall

And she said to breathe