Maybe it is a revelation to you,
but miners know how to stop a train.
Maybe you think that love of coal
means love of the company.
Let me tell you what we love
about coal.
It’s the paycheck.
The one we don’t have.
It’s the food
that’s not on the table,
the new backpack
that won’t be on his back,
my boy’s first day of school.
The doctor his granny
won’t be seeing for her heart.
Remember, we’re used to the dark.
We can see inside your pockets
lined from the coal we dug for free.
We can see the car on the track
filled up from the mine
you pulled us out of.
As long as it’s sitting there,
our hard work inside it,
we’ll be sitting here.