When they blow the heads off mountains to strip-mine the coal below
The create black poisoned fountains that will fall to Earth like snow
And there’s one thing to be sure of as the world turns green to black
They can blow the heads off mountains but they sure can’t put ‘em back
Chorus:
Oh they can’t put ‘em back - they can’t put ‘em back
Blow the heads off mountains but they can’t put ‘em back
They pollute the waterways roll down the Ohio
Ride the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
Let me tell of Larry Gibson - may his name forever stand
He was keeper of the mountains & a hero in that land
For he stood on Kayford mountain & was shipwrecked by Big Coal
But he wouldn’t sell his birthright for the mountain was his soul
Chorus:
Now the birds look down on craters where the trees once slept with stars
And they see how speculators can turn paradise to Mars
For in nature’s green oasis where ther once was crystal streams
There are Appalachian spaces bearing scars from strip-mine schemes
Chorus:
