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Sixteen Tons

Some people say a man is made out of mud,
A poor man’s made out of muscle and blood,
Muscle and blood and skin and bone,
A mind that’s weak and a back that’s strong.

Chorus

You load 16 tons and what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt.
St Peter don’t you call me, ’cos I can’t go,
I owe my soul to the company store.

I was born one morning when the sun didn’t shine.
I picked up my shovel and I walked to the mine.
I loaded 16 tons of number 9 coal,
And the straw boss said: “Well, bless my soul!”

(Chorus)

If you see me coming, better step aside,
A lot of men didn’t and a lot of men died.
One fist is iron, the other one’s steel,
If the right one don’t get you then the left one will.

(Chorus)