The River Ran Black-Alan Cathead Johnston

Recorded at the Dian-Lee Bed & Breakfast in Bluefield, WV on October 2, 2008. Recorded by Steve Date. This song will be in Steve's movie he is making about Coalwood, West Virginia. The vocals are hard to hear, so I have included the lyrics below:

The River Ran Black

Born in West Virginia down where the old Tug River flows
Raised in McDowell County back in the day when the king was Coal
That day is gone and lost forever, it aint never comin back
How I long for the days of my childhood
Back in the day when the river ran black with coal
The sky was blue, but the river ran black

Way down in a Premier coal mine my daddy crawled on his hands and knees
Tryin to make a dollar, he did it all for my mom and me
But it put my dad in an early grave, boys, my daddys gone now and he cant come back
Lord, how I long for the days of my childhood
Back in the day when the river ran black with coal
The sky was blue, but the river ran black

(BRIDGE)

Times were hard but the Good Lord saw us through
Every situation we got in
We never did go hungry lawd we never did without
And if I could Id do it all again

Years have come and gone now and Im still here where it all began
Tryin to make a dollar the way my daddy did way back then
Cause theres just something about these mountains that keeps a good man comin back
Lookin for the days of his childhood
Back in the day when the river ran black with coal
The sky was blue but the river ran black

By Alan Johnston © 2002

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Welch
• wv
• war
• caretta
• coal
• mcdowell
• county

[solkacorot]

thank you sir your music touches us all. you trully have a god giving talent .i wish i could get to hear you in person, one would only be so lucky.your musaic is great thank you so much

[cathead77]

@solkacorot Thank you so very much. That is very encouraging. I appreciate you.

[DrumlineGuru]

My mom & dad live in Raysal and my dad still works the coal over in Cucumber. I remember my grandmother and my mom taking me school shopping at Watson's, Murphy's and Penny's downtown Welch, all gone. And I was born at Stephen's Clinic, now a prison, and graduated from Iaeger. All gone. So sad.

[cathead77]

@DrumlineGuru Thanks for watching.

[DannyA123]

Thanks, Cathead. My mom and dad were born in Davy, WV. I was born in Brooklyn, NY, but I spent most summers at my Ma Bess and Pa Charlie's home along the Tug River in Davy, fishing every single morning with my Cousin Charles. Damn, those were good times spent with the family. Even today, I try to visit once-a-year, driving down from my home in Jackson, NJ just to reminisce with the remaining kinfolk, aunts and uncles and cousins, and to visit the family cemetery and pay my respects.

[cathead77]

@DannyA123 Thank you for watching.

[DannyA123]

@cathead77, where can I buy your music? Old Murl & Carol, my parents would love it. By the way, my dad was a coal-miner and lost three fingers in "the mines" at the tender age of 16. My great-grandfather, grandfather, and an uncle, were all killed mining coal in McDowell County.

[cathead77]

Tony, thanks for listening. If you look over at the right you will see a link that says "More Info". Click that and you will see the lyrics. Thanks again.