Sixteen Tons

Folksong (USA) um 1930 Alternativtitel: "Nine-to-Ten-Tons" • Text und Melodie: umstritten, wahrscheinlich George Davis bearbeitet von Mjchael

Der Text "Nine-to-Ten-Tons" wurde von George Davis, der selbst Bergarbeiter war, in den 1930er Jahren geschrieben und 1947 von Merle Travis unter dem Titel "Sixteen Tons" veröffentlicht. Die wohl erfolgreichste Version dürfte die von Tennessee Ernie Ford (1955) sein und ist seitdem zu einem festen Bestandteil des Country-Repertoit geworden.

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Sixteen Tons

1

Some [Em]people say a [']man is [C]made out of [B7]mud,
a [Em]poor man’s [']made out of [C]muscle and [B7]blood.
[Em]Muscle and blood and [Am]skin and bones,
a [Em]mind that’s weak and a [B7]back that’s strong

You load [Em]sixteen [']tons and [C]what do you [B7]get?

An [Em]other day [']older and [C]deeper in [B7]debt
St. [Em]Peter, don’t you call me ‘cause [Am]I can’t go.
I [Em]owe my soul to the [B7]company’s [Em]store.

2

Well, [Em]I was born one [']morning [C]when the sun didn’t [B7]shine,
I [Em]picked up my [']shovel and [C]walked to the [B7]mine
I [Em]loaded sixteen tons of [Am]number nine coal,
and the [Em]straw boss said, “Well, [B7]bless my soul!”

3

Well, [Em]I was born one [']morning it was [C]drizzlin’ [B7]rain,
[Em]fightin’ and [']trouble are my [C]middle [B7]name
I [Em]was raised in the canebreak by an [Am]old mamma lion,
can’t no [Em]high-toned woman make me[B7] walk the line

4

If you [Em]see me [']comin’ [C]better step [B7]aside,
a [Em]lot of men [']didn’t and a [C]lot of men[B7]died
One [Em]fist of iron and the [Am]other of steel,
if the [Em]right one doesn’t get you then the [B7]left one will.