Patty Loveless – You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive Chords

In the deep, dark hills of eastern Kentucky
That’s the place where I trace my bloodline
And it’s there I read on`a hillside gravestone
You’ll never leave Harlan alive

Oh my grandfather’s dad crossed the Cumberland Mountains
Where he took a pretty girl to be his bride
Said, won’t you walk with me out of the mouth of this holler
Or we’ll never leave Harlan alive

Where the sun comes up about ten in the morning
And the sun goes down about three in the day
And you fill your cup with whatever bitter brew you’re drinking
And you spend your life just thinking of how to get away

No one ever knew there was coal in them mountains
‘Til a man from the Northeast arrived
Waving hundred dollar bills said, I’ll pay you for your minerals
But he never left Harlan alive

Grandma sold out cheap and they moved out west to Pineville
To a farm where big Richland River winds
I bet they danced them a jig and they laughed and sang a new song
Who said we’d never leave Harlan alive

But the times they got hard and tobacco wasn’t selling
And ole granddad knew what he’d do to survive
He went and dug for Harlan coal and sent the money back to grandma
But he never left Harlan alive

Where the sun comes up about ten in the morning
And the sun goes down about three in the day
And you fill your cup with whatever bitter brew you’re drinking
And you spend your life digging coal from the bottom of your grave

Hm hm hmm hm hm hmm hm hm hmm hmm hmm
Hm hm hmm hm hm hmm hm hmm
Hm hm hmm hm hm hmm hm hmm hm hm hmm
You’ll never leave Harlan alive”