Trip To Hyden
Tom T. Hall
In Search Of A Song
Trip To Hyden - Tom T. Hall
Tossed and turned the night
before in some old motel
Subconsciously recallin'
some old sinful thing I'd done
My buddy drove the car
and those big coal trucks shook us up
As we drove on into Hyden
in the early morning sun
Past the hound dogs
and some domineckered chickens
Temporary-lookin' houses
with their lean and bashful kids
Every hundred yards a sign proclaimed
that Christ was coming soon
And I thought, "Well, man,
he'd sure be disappointed if he did."
On the way we talked about the 40 miners
Of the 39 who died and one who lived
to tell the tale
We stopped for beans and cornbread
at the Ed & Lois Cafe
Then went to see the sherrif
at the Leslie County Jail
They took us to the scene
of that disaster
I was so surprised to not find any sign
of death at all
Just another country hillside
with some mudholes and some junk
The mines were deadly silent
like a rathole in the wall
"It was just like being right
inside of a shotgun."
The old man coughed
and lit a cigarette that he had rolled
Back in town I bought a heavy jacket
from a store
was It sunny down in Hyden
but somehow the town was cold
The old man introduced the undertaker
Who seemed refreshed despite the kind
of work I knew he did
We talked about the pretty lady
from the Grand Ole Opry
An' we talked about the money
she was raisin' for the kids
Well, I guess the old man
thought we were reporters
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He kept reminding me of
how his simple name was spelled
Some lady said, "They worth more money now
than when they's a-livin'. "
I'll And leave it there
'cause I suppose she told it pretty well