16 Tons

[Verse 1]
Some people say a man is made outta mud
But a poor man's made outta muscle and blood
Muscle and blood and skin and bones
With a mind that's weak and a back that's strong

[Chorus]
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

[Verse 2]
Well, I was born one mornin', it was drizzlin' rain
Fightin' and trouble are my middle name
Raised in the cane-brake by an old mama lion
Can't no high-tone woman make me walk the line

[Chorus]
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

[Verse 3]
Well, if you see me comin', better step aside
A lotta men didn't, and a lotta men died
One fist of iron, the other one of steel
If the right one don't getcha, then the left one will

[Chorus]
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