(Merle Travis)
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Some people say a man is made outta mud
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A poor man's made outta muscle and blood
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Muscle and blood and skin and bones
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A mind that's a-weak and a back that's strong
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You load sixteen tons, what do you get
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Another day older and deeper in debt
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Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
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I owe my soul to the company store
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I was born one mornin' when the sun didn't shine
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I picked up my shovel and I walked to the mine
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I loaded sixteen tons of number nine coal
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And the straw boss said "Well, a-bless my soul"
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You load sixteen tons, what do you get
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Another day older and deeper in debt
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Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
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I owe my soul to the company store
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I was born one mornin', it was drizzlin' rain
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Fightin' and trouble are my middle name
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I was raised in the canebrake by an ol' mama lion
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Cain't no-a high-toned woman make me walk the line
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You load sixteen tons, what do you get
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Another day older and deeper in debt
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Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
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I owe my soul to the company store
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If you see me comin', better step aside
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A lotta men didn't, a lotta men died
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One fist of iron, the other of steel
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If the right one don't a-get you
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Then the left one will
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You load sixteen tons, what do you get
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Another day older and deeper in debt
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Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
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I owe my soul to the company store
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Sixteen Tons
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| Tennessee Ernie Ford |
