It happened an hour ago
Way down in a tunnel of coal
The gas caught fire from somebody's lamp
And the miners are choking in smoke

Dear sister and brother, goodbye
Dear father and mother, goodbye
My fingers are weak, I cannot write
Goodbye, Centralia, goodbye

This looks like the end for me, and all of my buddies, I see
We're all writing letters, to the ones that we love
Please carry these words to our wives

I hear the moans and the groans
Of more than a hundred good men
When the night whistle blows
And I don't come home, do all that you can to help mom

Dear sister and brother, goodbye
Dear father and mother, goodbye
My fingers are weak, I cannot write
Goodbye, Centralia, goodbye
Goodbye, Centralia, goodbye