Tossed and turned the night
Subconsciously recallin' some
old sinful thing I'd done
My buddy drove the car and those
big coal trucks shook us up
As we drove on into Hyden in
Past the hound dogs and some
Temporary- lookin' houses with
their lean and bashful kids
Every hundred yards a sign proclaimed
that Christ was coming soon
And I thought, "Well, man,
he'd sure be disappointed if he did."
On the way we talked about the 40 miners
Of the 39 who died and one
who lived to tell the tale
We stopped for beans and cornbread
Then went to see the sherrif
at the Leslie County Jail
They took us to the scene
I was so surprised to not find
Just an other country hillside with
some mudholes and some junk
The mines were deadly silent
like a rathole in the wall
"It was just like being right
The old man coughed and lit a
cigarette that he had rolled
heavy jacket from a store
It was sunny down in Hyden but
somehow the town was cold
Well, I guess the old man
thought we were reporters
He kept reminding me of how
his simple name was spelled
Some lady said, "They worth more money
now than when they's a- livin'. "
And I'll leave it there 'cause
I suppose she told it pretty well
