Bury Me Standing

Forty years in the West Virginia dark Lung full of coal, hand full of dust My daddy died on his back in a hospital bed And I swore to God I never would

The cave-in took my brother in '02 Took my cousin in '06 And the company sent a card and a check — And the company never fixed the rig

Bury me standing, with my boots in the rain Some men die on their backs, some men die in chains — I die in the same goddamn way I came With my name still in my mouth Bury me standing With my name still in my mouth

There's a hole in the ground that they keep open Six feet wide and a hundred deep And every time the whistle blows in Boone County — We climb in 'fore we sleep

My woman says baby, you can quit My boys say daddy, come home I said the only place I've ever been — is in the dark And the dark has been my own The dark has been my own

You can take my pension, take my breath Take the lung the company didn't fix But you cannot take the way a man stands — And you cannot take the man back from the pit You cannot take a man back from the pit

Bury me standing, with my boots in the rain Some men die on their backs, some men die in chains — Lay me in the slag, brother, lay me in the seam And let the smoke write my name Let the smoke write my name

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