Travelin' down that coal town road, Listen to my rubber tires whine; Goodbye to buckeye and white sycamore I'm leavin' you behind. Oh I've been a coal man all my life Layin' down tracks in the hole, Got a back like an ironwood bent by the wind Blood veins blue as the coal. Blood veins blue as the coal. Somebody said "That's a strange tattoo You have on the side of your head." I said "That's a blue print, left by the coal Just a little more and I'd be dead" And I love the rumble and I love the dark I love the cool of the slate. But it's on down the new road lookin' for a job It's the travelin' and lookin' I hate. I've stood for the union, walkin' the line, Fought against the company; Stood for the U. M. W. of A. Now who's gonna stand for me? I got no house and I got no pay, Just got a worried soul; And this blue tattoo on the side of my head Left by the number nine coal. Someday when I'm dead and gone To Heaven, the land of my dreams, I won't have to worry on losin' my job To bad times 'n big machines. I ain't gonna pay my money away For pensions and hospital plans. I'm gonna pick coal where the blue heavens roll And sing with the angel bands.
https://primoaccordo.net/jim-croce/coal-tattoo.htm