Blue Diamond Mines

I remember the ways in the by gone days When we were in our prime How us and John L Give the old man hell Down in the blue diamond mine Well the whistle blowed And the rooster crowed Two hours before daylight When a man done his best And he earned his good rest Made seventeen dollars at night [Chorus: ] In the mines, in the mines In the blue diamond mines I worked my life away In the mines, in the mines In the blue diamond mines Fall on your knees and pray You old black gold You've taken my lungs And your dust has darkened my home And now that we're old Your turning your back Where else can an old miner go? Well its almablock and big leatherwood And now it's blue diamond too Well the pits are all closed And it's get another job What else can an older miner do? [Chorus: ] John M had a dream But it is broken it seems Mining has had it's day But they're stripping off my mountaintop And they pay me eight dollars a day I've did a little pogo of welfare meals A little pogo of welfare flour But I tell you right now You won't qualify until you work for a quarter an hour [Chorus: ]