Lyrics
Every day we leave the lightFor the world belowThe way our fathers' fathers didA hundred years agoWith blackened hands and tired eyesAccustomed to the darkWe swing the cold-forged picks'Til the walls begin to sparkNow and foreverOur number it is nineWe live or die togetherIn a Pennsylvania coal mineWhat is that I hear?A warning shout"Water's coming inGet out! Get out! Get out!"There's no escape for usThis dungeon is too deepWe think of those we loveOur courage we must keepBut the cry, "The water's rising!"Sent a shiver down my spineWe live or die togetherIn a Pennsylvania coal mineTwo hundred feet above usThe battle has begunWe make a resolutionTo live or die as oneHard-hearted limestoneWill not let them throughStill the water's risingAnd there's nothing we can doNow and foreverOur number it is nineAll tied togetherIn a Pennsylvania coal mineWhat is that, oh Lord?Is it an angel's face I see?No, wait, these are the arms of menI feel lifting meThen I'll see my darlingTo her the tales I'll tellOf all the silent prayersAnd letters of farewellI won't sleep tonightI won't close my eyes'Til I see the morning lightThe sweet sun riseAnd when someday I dieAnd they lay me in the groundMy soul shall rise and it will beThe second time around