You'll Never Leave Harlen Alive

Capo 3


Intro - Em G D C G D Em


(No chords)
In the deep dark hills of Eastern Kentucky

Thats the place where I traced my bloodline
        Em      G           D         C
And its there I read on a hillside gravestone
        G            D     Em
You'll never leave Harlen alive
                   G                   D         C
Oh my Grandfathers Dad crossed the Cumberland Mountains
      Em          G                    C
Where he took a pretty girl to be his bride
                Em        G             D              C
Said "Won't you walk with me out of the mouth of this holler
    Em                 D     Em
Or we'll never leave Harlen alive"

                    G         C            G
Where the sun comes up about ten in the mornin
                  Em         F           C
And the sun goes down about three in the day
                   G                C                   Em
And you fill your cup with whatever bitter brew you're drinkin
                                         D           Em
And you spend your life just thinkin of how to get away

   Em        G              D             C
No one ever knew there was coal in them mountains
 Em                   G         C
Till a man from the northeast arrived
       Em             G
Wavin hundred dollar bills
            D            C
Said "I'll pay for your minerals"
   Em              D      Em
But he never left Harlen alive
  Em              G              D                  C
Grandma sold out cheap and they moved out west of Pineville
     Em               G             C
To a farm where Big Richland River winds
                 Em          G
And I bet they danced them a jig
                      D          C
And they laughed and sang a new song
          Em                D      Em
"Who said we'd never leave Harlen alive"
     Em            G         D              C
But the times got hard and tobacco wasn't sellin
      Em                    G          C
And old Granddad knew what he'd do to survive
  Em                 G
He went and dug for Harlan coal
              D             C
And sent the money back to Grandma
        Em         D       Em
But he never left Harlen alive


      G         C            G
Where the sun comes up about ten in the mornin
                  Em         F           C
And the sun goes down about three in the day
                   G                C                   Em
And you fill your cup with whatever bitter brew you're drinkin
                                              D              Em
And you spend your life diggin coal from the bottom of your grave
                              D      Em
Mmmmmmmm You'll never leave Harlen alive