Bells of Coal and Timber


In the hills of Kentucky
Lived a Tennessee lad
Who walked the mountain roads
To work in the mines singing
The bells of coal and timber.

His father was a miner
His mother a strong girl
There she worked the family farm
Hoeing until the break of morn
Singing the bells of coal and timber.

In the Hazard county towns
The preachers gathered round
The children would play
Lets trick the fox to surrender
Singing the bells of coal and timber.

Woodcutters dammed the rivers to cry
Mining dust was hard till lungs went dry
The lakes were meant for fisherman's dreams
Clothes were washed in cold water barrels
Winds sang bells of coal and timber.

In the good times the lad's grandpa
Walked with him in the evening
Talking of an old highland song
Like his grandfather taught him
The bells of coal and timber.

In the spring the disaster came
A whistle shattered the sun-lit morn
Men screamed, their ladies cried
Daughters ran to their darling arms
Whispering bells of coal and timber.

The lad remembered all he'd seen
Learned to pick a guitar and sing
He grew with assurance he'd never mine
With a stern soul and strong heart
And wrote the bells of coal and timber.

A long time's past, all that remains
Is the sweet refrain of a coal car's wheel
His offspring perform where they may
With pride, passion, and a fire within
When they sing the bells of coal and timber.

Lyrical song played best in a Bluegrass Style