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I ain’t seen the sun
in many long days.
Get up in the dark
and go home that-a-way.
‘Cept Sunday, Thank God,
when my work is all done.
I wake in the morn
to the light of the sun.
My God, He is mighty,
as Exodus says.
My God, He is humble,
for me He chose death.
Though death will not spare me,
I’ll fear not the grave.
No mines up in Heaven,
just sunshine in spades.
No, I ain’t seen the sun
in many long days,
but I’ll see my reward
in Heaven some day.
Yes, I’ll see my reward
in Heaven some day.
© Jeni Hankins & Billy Kemp, 2007
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4. |
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5. |
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Daddy had something he could never hold
and he’d lost it down in that Jewell Ridge coal.
Mama said, “Daddy, can’t you let it go?”
He kept on digging that Jewell Ridge coal.
Our reward’s in Heaven.
It sure ain’t below.
No, there ain’t no diamonds
in that Jewell Ridge coal.
Sister wanted someone to have and to hold.
So, she married right into that Jewell Ridge coal.
Mama said, “Baby, can’t you let him go?”
she wrapped her arms ‘round that Jewell Ridge coal.
Our reward’s in Heaven.
It sure ain’t below.
No, there ain’t no diamonds
in that Jewell Ridge coal.
We all want something we can never hold.
We keep on digging like to save our soul.
But there ain’t no light in a pitch black hole.
No, nothing’s shining down in that coal.
Mama loved something she could never hold.
Ashes and dust ‘neath that Jewell Ridge coal.
Mama said, “Lordy, I just can’t let go,
since we lost Daddy to that Jewell Ridge coal.”
Our reward’s in Heaven.
It sure ain’t below.
No, there ain’t no diamonds
in that Jewell Ridge coal.
Our reward’s in Heaven.
It sure ain’t below.
No, there ain’t no diamonds
in that Jewell Ridge coal.
No, there ain’t no diamonds in that Jewell Ridge coal.
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7. |
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If you don't mind the low seam,
if you don't mind the dark,
if you don't mind the black face
that is every miner's mark,
you can make a fortune
and you can buy a dream.
Go cruising in a Chevy
with the Tazewell Beauty Queen.
If you don't mind the short fuse,
and you don't mind the smell,
if you don't mind a summer
in a place as black as hell,
you can make a fortune
and you can buy a dream.
Go cruising in a Chevy
with the Tazewell Beauty Queen.
If you will make a gamble,
if you will bet your skin,
you can get your wish
in tires and chrome and fins.
You can make a fortune
and you can buy a dream.
Go cruising in a Chevy
with the Tazewell Beauty Queen.
If you will make a gamble,
if you will bet your skin,
you can get your wish
in tires and chrome and fins.
You can make a fortune
and you can buy a dream.
Go cruising in a Chevy
with the Tazewell Beauty Queen.
Oh, you might be dusty now,
but you'll be coming up so clean,
just a-driving in that Chevy
with your Tazewell Beauty Queen.
© Jeni Hankins
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9. |
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Picnic in the Sky
by Jeni Hankins & Billy Kemp © 2013
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
I pulled up the milkweed, hid neath the willow tree
from the church bell and the mystery
‘cause I did not understand
Christ Jesus’ victory and how that he loved –
the tears and the tongues, the power in the blood.
Frozen dinners were a special treat
listening to radio obituaries
Great grandma hoed the yellow squash
We listened while the women talked
and the voice said, “These are the Days of Our Lives.”
I wondered did they go to the picnic in the sky
while I braided sister’s hair, watched the biscuits rise
Oh, do this in remembrance of me
The men washed their faces, removed the traces
of the local mining industry
years of working underground
to get at the low seam, to pick out the old dream
of a house and some land, a heavenly reward.
Frozen dinners were a special treat
listening to radio obituaries
Great grandma hoed the yellow squash
We listened while the women talked
and the voice said, “These are the Days of Our Lives.”
I wondered did they go to the picnic in the sky
while I braided sister’s hair, watched the biscuits rise
Oh, do this in remembrance of me
The miner now a memory, in the same place as little me
fussing with my dolly and singing
the old rugged cross
listening to the women speak of patchwork and recipes
the power in the blood, the power in the blood.
Frozen dinners were a special treat
listening to radio obituaries
Great grandma hoed the yellow squash
We listened while the women talked
and the voice said, “These are the Days of Our Lives.”
I wondered did they go to the picnic in the sky
while I braided sister’s hair, watched the biscuits rise
Oh, do this in remembrance of me,
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11. |
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There hung a banjo
alone on a wall
hung there for years
making no sound at all
till along came a Robin
in the window to sing
and oh how that banjo did ring
She sang, “I’ve been flying
through a nearby wood
where the air is clear
and the water is good,
the pines so sturdy
and their needles so green
and oh how that banjo did ring
He said, “I once travelled
with a lonesome hobo,
I rode the steel rails
and I joined that hobo
in many wild tales.
Now that old hobo
is naught but a dream.”
and oh how that banjo did ring
One day the old house
with the banjo fell down
and the Robin cried
when she heard the sound.
She sang a tune
sad and true
of a hobo and a banjo
and the rambles they knew
and in the rubble
she heard the strings
and oh how that banjo did ring
She plucked the strings
and the ebony pegs
she took the bridge
and the broken head
all to her nest
where together they sing
and oh how that banjo did ring
© Jeni Hankins & Billy Kemp
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13. |
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If I ever get ten dollars
gonna buy me a three piece suit and
gonna buy you a diamond ring and
gonna marry you.
If I ever get ten dollars
gonna buy me a piece of land and
build a house with a picket fence
with my own two hands.
If I ever get ten dollars
gonna quit this railway car and
hang up my walking shoes and
stay right where you are.
@ Jeni Hankins & Billy Kemp
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14. |
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I heard some trouble came your way
just flew on in the other day
It shook you up, knocked you flat
left you hurting quick as that
I’m no doctor, I’m just a friend
who’s had his share of old dead ends
I’m no preacher, but here’s what I know
You take it easy, take it slow
When tales of sorrow chase you down
leave you lyin’ on lower ground
Don’t you listen (don’t you listen) to that sound
there’s a sweet song comin’ round
I’m no doctor, I’m just a friend
who’s had a share of old dead ends
I’m no preacher, but here’s what I know
You take it easy, take it slow
When tales of sorrow chase you down
leave you lyin’ on lower ground
Don’t you listen (don’t you listen) to that sound
there’s a sweet song comin’ round
© Jeni Hankins & Billy Kemp 2011
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Live recording of Jeni & Billy's performance at the World Famous McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica, California, in the fall of 2014.
