16 Tons

Some people say a man is made outta mud

A poor man's made outta muscle and blood

A muscle and blood and skin and bones

A mind that's weak and a back that's strong

You load a 16 tons, what do you get?

Another day older and deeper in debt

Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go

I owe my soul to the company store

I was born one mornin' when the sun didn't shine

Picked up my shovel and walked to the mine

I loaded 16 tons of number nine coal

And the straw boss said, "Well, a-bless my soul"

You load a 16 tons, what do you get?

Another day older and deeper in debt

Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go

I owe my soul to the company store

I was born one mornin', it was drizzlin' rain

Fightin' and trouble are my middle name

Raised in the canebrake by an old mama lion

Can't no high-toned woman make me walk the line

You load a 16 tons, what do you get?

Another day older and deeper in debt

Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go

I owe my soul to the company store

Yeah, if you see me comin' better step aside

A lotta men didn't, a lotta men died

One fist of iron, the other of steel

If the right one don't get you then the left one will

You load a 16 tons, what do you get?

Another day older and deeper in debt

Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go

I owe my soul to the company store