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Version 1 Version 3
[Verse]
Am C G D
In the deep, dark hills of eastern Kentucky
Am C F
That's the place where I trace my bloodline
F C G D
And it’s there I read on a hillside gravestone
F E7 Am
You will never leave Harlan alive
[Verse]
Am C G D
Well my granddad’s dad walked down Katahrins Mountain
Am C F
And he asked Tillie Helton to be his bride
F C
Said, won’t you walk with me
G D
out of the mouth of this holler
F E7 Am
Or we’ll never leave Harlan alive
[Chorus]
C F G C
Where the sun comes up about ten in the morning
Am Bb F
And the sun goes down about three in the day
C F G C
And you fill your cup with whatever bitter brew you’re drinkin’
Am Bb Am
And you spend your life just thinkin’ of how to get away
[Verse]
Am C G D
No one ever knew there was coal in them mountains
Am C F
‘Til a man from the Northeast arrived
F C G D
Waving hundred dollar bills said, I’ll pay you for your minerals
F E7 Am
But he never left Harlan alive
[Verse]
Am C G D
Granny sold out cheap and they moved out west of Pineville
Am C F
To a farm where big Richland River winds
F C G D
I bet they danced them a jig, laughed and sang a new song
F E7 Am
Who said we’d never leave Harlan alive
[Instrumental bridge]
Am C G D
Am C F
F C G D
F E7 Am
[Verse]
Am C G D
But the times they got hard and tobacco wasn’t selling
Am C F
And ole granddad knew what he’d do to survive
F C G D
He went and dug for Harlan coal and sent the money back to granny
F E7 Am
But he never left Harlan alive
[Chorus]
C F G C
Where the sun comes up about ten in the morning
C Am Bb F
And the sun goes down about three in the day
C F G C
And you fill your cup with whatever bitter brew you’re drinkin’
Am Bb F
And you spend your life just thinkin’ of how to get away
C F G C
Where the sun comes up about ten in the morning
C Am Bb F
And the sun goes down about three in the day
C F G C
And you fill your cup with whatever bitter brew you’re drinkin’
Am Bb Am
And you spend your life digging coal from the bottom of your grave
[Verse]
Am C G D
In the deep, dark hills of eastern Kentucky
Am C F
That's the place where I trace my bloodline
F C G D
And it’s there I read on a hillside gravestone
F E7 Am
You'll never leave Harlan alive