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 bones
A mind that's weak and a back that's strong
*You load sixteen tons, what do you get
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store
I was born one mornin'
When the sun didn't shine
I picked up my shovel and I walked to the mine
I loaded sixteen tons of number nine coal
The storeboss said " Lord bless my soul "
(Repeat *)
I was born one mornin', it was drizzling rain
Fightin' and trouble are my middle name
I was raised in a cane break
By an old' mama lion
'T ain't no high tone woman make me walk the line
(Repeat *)
If you see me comin' better step aside
A lotta men didn't, and a lotta men died
One fist of iron, the other of steel
If the right one won't get you
Then the left one will
(Repeat *)
Writer(s): Merle Travis
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