I'm going down to Charleston
Through the shadow of the mountain this road winds
Through closed-up towns, forgotten dreams, and welcome signs
Fading far behind
Coal Country

I'm thankful for the sons who died
Didn't back down from a Federal fight
Where the lead lies still and the smoke still rises
On the Blair mountainside
Coal Country

It put a roof over my head
And the armor on the tanks in Normandy
The lights shone bright in the hands of its care
From the western skies to Washington, D. C
Now it lies broken, high, and cold
In its grave of Appalachian stone
Coal Country

Now we don't need tokens to a company store
That's what government stamps and codeine's for
We may have won a few battles but we lost the war
Now we're slaves and poor
Coal Country

It put a roof over my head
And the armor on the tanks in Normandy
The lights shone bright in the hands of its care
From the western skies to Washington, D. C
Now it lies broken, high, and cold
In its grave of Appalachian stone
Coal Country