"Three Miles Down" lyrics - GIL SCOTT-HERON

Here come the mine cars
And it's damn near dawn
Another shift of men, some of them my friends, comin' on
Hard to imagine workin' in the mines
Coal dust in your lungs, on your skin and on your mind
I've listened to the speeches
But it occurred to me politicians don't understand
The thoughts of isolation, ain't no sunshine underground
It's like workin' in a graveyard three miles down

Damn near a legend as old as the mines
Things that happen in the pits just don't change with the times
Work till you're exhausted in too little space
A history of disastrous fears etched on your face
Somebody signs a paper, every body thinks it's fine
But Taft and Hartley ain't done one day in the mines
You start to stiffen! You heard a crackin' sound!
It's like workin' in a graveyard three miles down.