[Verse 1]
If you're thumbin' down a dog-town road
With your tongue back, draggin' ass
Hotter than a train track, Harlan up to Middlesboro
With your coal seam, jimson weed, wildcat
Wind speed, big Sandy to the Big O
On an overdrive mainline, try to clear Kentucky alive
My, my, such a lost tribe
[Pre-Chorus]
Don't you know?
Don't you know?
Don't you know?
Don't you know? You know, you know
[Chorus]
There used to be a mountain here
There used to be a river so clear, we could swim to the bottom
There was heart, there was soul, but I guess that we forgot 'em
'Cause there ain't nothin' standin' out the window but a sign on a slag pile
It says, it said there used to be a mountain here
[Verse 2]
If you're thumbin' down a drag-mine road
And your quickset toothache needs a little opiate
Lookin' for a pot a-gold
With a go-devil, Honda rebel, OxyContin coal shovel
Climb on up the tipple and go
Straight to a gunnysack, polecat
Mitch'll have a heart attack, you know
[Pre-Chorus]
Don't you know?
Don't you know?
Don't you know?
Don't you know? You know, you know
[Chorus]
There used to be a mountain here
There used to be a river so clear, we could swim to the bottom
There was heart, there was soul, but I guess that we forgot 'em
'Cause there ain't nothin' standin' out the window but a sign on a slag pile
It says, it said there used to be a mountain here
[Bridge]
There used to be a house on the edge of town
There used to be a job and a roller rink
Church on Sunday, passin' the plate around
There used to be a river full of catfish
We'd catch just to let 'em go
Ah, we used to let it flow
But now we've let ourselves go, hey!
[Verse 3]
So, if you're thumbin' down a coal town road
And you're all jacked, smoke-stacked, suckin' on a thumbtack
Swingin' at the end of your rope
From a shoelace, total waste, sign your whole life away
Don't forget the debt that you're owed
From the fat cats, race rats, big Pharma, tall stacks
They're the ones a-diggin' the hole
All the way down to Guangzhou
[Pre-Chorus]
Don't you know?
Don't you know?
Don't you know?
Don't you know? You know, you know
[Chorus]
There used to be a mountain here
There used to be a river so clear, we could swim to the bottom
There was heart, there was soul, but I guess that we forgot 'em
'Cause there ain't nothin' standin' out the window but a sign on a slag pile
It says, it said there used to be a mountain here (Hey, hey, hey)
[Post-Chorus]
There used to be a mountain here (Hey, hey, hey, hey)
There used to be a mountain here (Hey, hey, hey, hey)
There used to be a mountain
Used to Be a Mountain was written by Trey Hensley & Ketch Secor.
Used to Be a Mountain was produced by Old Crow Medicine Show & Matt Ross-Spang.
Old Crow Medicine Show released Used to Be a Mountain on Mon Apr 04 2022.
Ketch Secor:
I’ve been playing Appalachian music in Appalachia since I was a kid. West Virginia, Kentucky, Southwest Virginia, and East Tennessee are the places I love to play most. When you saw a fiddle in these settings it always feels like a homecoming. But time has dealt a hard hand to the regi...