Many is the times I'd walked it's banks
With tearful pride and humble thanks
It's baptized my soul and made me whole
Freed my hands from dirty coal
Many small houses sit on it's banks
Catalogs of dreams and prayers of thanks
Washed my body and cleaned my mind
It's been cruel and it's been kind

Coal river
Coal river
Coal river I've come home

I see my daddy all tired and worn
A gentle man yet full of scorn
We sit on the front porch and watch it rain
Dream of knowledge and talk of pain
But that old city got too big for me
Just like the river our love runs free
So here I am and here I'll stay
I'll just live my life from day to day

On coal river
Coal river
Coal river