[Written in 1947 by Merle Travis]
Some people say a man is made outta mud
A poor man's made outta muscle and blood
Muscle and blood and skin and bones
A mind that's a-weak and a back that's strong
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"
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', it was drizzlin' rain
Fightin' and trouble are my middle name
I was raised in the *canebrake* by an ol' mama lion
Cain't no-a high-toned woman make me walk the line
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
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
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
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The sun's gonna shine in my back door someday
Just you wait and see, just you wait and see
One day you'll cry, I won't come back to you
Just you wait and see, just you wait and see
You've got such a great, big beautiful smile
I wanna hug and kiss you for a while
The sun's gonna shine in my back door someday
Just you wait and see, just you wait and see
--- Flute & Saxophone Solo ---
You've got such a great, big beautiful smile
You're so doggone mean I wonder why?
One day you'll cry, I won't come back to you
Just you wait and see, just you wait and see
The sun's gonna shine in my back door someday
Just you wait and see, just you wait and see
Wait and see, wait and see
Wait and see, wait and see
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