Travelin' on down that coal town road Listen to my rubber tires whine Goodbye to buckeye and white sycamore I'm leavin' you behind Oh, I've been a coal miner all my life Layin' down track in a hole Got a back like ironwood, bent by the wind Blood veins as blue as the coal Blood veins as blue as the coal Well, somebody said, “ That's a strange tattoo You have on the side of your head” I said, “That's a blue mark left by the coal Little more and I'd a been dead” Oh, I love the rumble and I love the dark Lord, I love the cool of the slate But it's going down that new road lookin' for a job Travelin' and lookin’ I hateTravelin' and lookin’ I hateSome day when I'm dead and gone To heaven the land of my dreams I won't have to worry ‘bout losin' my job To bad times and big machines Oh, I got no house Lord, I got no job Just got a worried soul And a blue tattoo on the side of my head Left by the number nine coal Left by the number nine coal