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16 tons....

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HeelsFans

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Oct 22, 1997, 3:00:00 AM10/22/97
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I don't know whether this is just the way Tennessee Ernie Ford sang it, but
here are the lyrics I have.

SIXTEEN TONS (Merle Travis)

Now some people say a man's made out of mud,
But a poor man's made out of muscle and blood,
Muscle and blood and skin and bones,
A mind that's weak and a back that's strong.
You load sixteen tons and what do you get?
You get another day older and deeper in debt.
Saint Peter, don't you call me cause I can't go.
I owe my soul to the company store.

I was born one morning when the sun didn't shine,
I picked up my shovel and I walked to the mine,
I loaded sixteen tons of number nine coal,
And the straw boss hollered, "Well, bless my soul!"
You load sixteen tons and what do you get?
You get another day older and deeper in debt.
Saint Peter, don't you call me cause I can't go.
I owe my soul to the company store.

I was born one morning in the drizzling rain.
Fighting and trouble is my middle name.
I was raised in the bottoms by a mama hound,
I'm mean as a dog but I'm gentle as a lamb.
You load sixteen tons and what do you get?
You get another day older and deeper in debt.
Saint Peter, don't you call me cause I can't go.
I owe my soul to the company store.

If you see me coming you better step aside,
A lot of men didn't and a lot of men died.
I got a fist of iron and a fist of steel,
If the right one don't get you, then the left one will.
You load sixteen tons and what do you get?
You get another day older and deeper in debt.
Saint Peter, don't you call me cause I can't go.
I owe my soul to the company store.


Mitch Drumm

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Oct 22, 1997, 3:00:00 AM10/22/97
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HeelsFans (heel...@aol.com) wrote:
: I don't know whether this is just the way Tennessee Ernie Ford sang it, but

: here are the lyrics I have.
:
: SIXTEEN TONS (Merle Travis)
:
: Now some people say a man's made out of mud,

as sung by ernie ford, i think "now" is omitted

: But a poor man's made out of muscle and blood,

ford omits "but"


: You get another day older and deeper in debt.

ford omits "you get"


: You get another day older and deeper in debt.

again omit "you get"


: I was raised in the bottoms by a mama hound,

: I'm mean as a dog but I'm gentle as a lamb.

ford sings: i was raised in a cane break by an old mama lion
ain't no high toned woman make me walk the line


: You get another day older and deeper in debt.

again omit "you get"


: I got a fist of iron and a fist of steel,


ford sings "one fist of iron, the other of steel"
or possibly "one fist of iron, the other one steel"


: You get another day older and deeper in debt.

again omit "you get"

JCURTISS2

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Oct 22, 1997, 3:00:00 AM10/22/97
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>(HeelsFans) wrote:

>I don't know whether this is just the way Tennessee Ernie Ford sang it, but
> here are the lyrics I have.
>

>snip<

>I was born one morning in the drizzling rain.
>Fighting and trouble is my middle name.

>I was raised in the bottoms by a mama hound,
>I'm mean as a dog but I'm gentle as a lamb.
>

>snip<

The way I remember the last two lines of this verse are:

I was raised in a cane break by an old mama line
Ain't no high toned woman make me walk the line

This is from memory and the version I remember is by Tennessee Ernie. Hope it
helps.

The Lyric Underground

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Oct 23, 1997, 3:00:00 AM10/23/97
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SIXTEEN TONS

Some people say a man is made out of mud,
A poor man's made out of muscle and blood.


Muscle and blood and skin and bones,
A mind that's weak and a back that's strong.

CHORUS:
You load sixteen tons, what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt.
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go,


I owe my soul to the company store.

I was born one mornin' when the sun didn't shine,
I picked up my shovel and I walked to the mine.


I loaded sixteen tons of number nine coal,

And the straw boss said "Well, a-bless my soul."

(CHORUS)

I was born one mornin' it was drizzlin' rain,
A fightin' and trouble are my middle name,
I was raised in a canebrake by an ole mama lion,
Cain't no high-toned woman make me walk the line.

(CHORUS)

If you see me comin' better step aside,
A lotta men didn't a lotta men died,
One fist of iron, the other of steel
If the right one don't a-get you, then the left one will.

(CHORUS)

___________________________________________

JEN'S UNDERGROUND - For lyrics!
http://www.enternet.co.nz/client/personal/jen/
------------


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