I'm a Harlan man
I went down in the mine when I was barely grown
It was easy then
‘Cause I didn't know what I know now
But I'm a family man
And it's the only life that I've ever known
But I'm a Harlan man
Just as long as my luck and lungs hold out

I'm a mountain man
Born in East Kentucky and here I'll stay
And if it's the good Lord's plan
I'll wake up in the mornin'
And find I'm lookin' at the end of another long week
And I can draw my pay
‘Cause I'm a Harlan man
And you never catch me whinin', I ain't that kind

I'm a union man
Just like my daddy and all my kin
I took a union stand
No matter what the company said
I got me two good hands
Just as long as I'm able, I won't give in
‘Cause I'm a Harlan man
Be a coal mining mother till the day I'm dead