Story Behind The Song

Some years ago, while driving the scenic route from southern New Jersey to western Kentucky, I became a "lost yankee" in the coal mining country of West Virginia and eastern Kentucky. Although the sun had long since risen in the high country, the valley where Hazard, KY sits remained cloaked in pre-dawn gloom. Inspired by conversations I had during my journey, including one with a convenience store clerk in Hazard, this song is ultimately about the beauty of even the most distressed hometown.

Song Description

Some years ago, while driving the scenic route from southern New Jersey to western Kentucky, I became a "lost yankee" in the coal mining country of West Virginia and eastern Kentucky. Although the sun had long since risen in the high country, the valley where Hazard, KY sits remained cloaked in pre-dawn gloom. Inspired by conversations I had during my journey, including one with a convenience store clerk in Hazard, this song is ultimately about the beauty of even the most distressed hometown.

Lyrics

On a silent, sleepy December day
A lost yankee asked me if I knew the way
To drive out over that mighty hill
And catch the Parkway out to Louisville
He said, "It's ten o'clock but there's no light of day,
Man there's a darkness in this town, scarin' me away.
The sun just won't rise,
Seems like the sun won't ever rise on Hazard town."

I said, "Well mister, we get our days of sun,
She shines her light some on everyone.
But the mines they're all shuttin' down now, see,
And the Queen City ain't what she used to be.
The mountains high and the valley's low,
Sometimes coal dust fills the sky, you know,
And then you'll never see the sun rise
No, the sun won't never rise on Hazard town.

"Now Davey there leads a miner's life
He gets by okay, if he survives the strikes.
Spendin' his nights at a club tip top
Owned by a mine boss, beyond the mountaintops.
Each day his skin turns black, but his lungs turn blacker,
He'll be workin' that mine, until the hereafter.
But there's soot down in his eyes,
So he'll never see the sun rise.
No, the sun won't never rise on Hazard town.

"Well the layoffs keep on comin' down
And anger fills this sleepin' town.
Men wait each day for a train,
To take them out from this dyin' range.
But though each night their pain grows stronger,
Well the morning comes, their line gets longer,
Because the train don't never come,
No, she's waitin' for the sun
And the sun don't never rise on Hazard town."

Well the yankee didn't have much to say,
He just shrugged and said, "Well, I'm on my way."
So I led him high to the mountaintops,
Where highways start, and darkness stops.
He said, "Hey there, mister, won't you come along,
Out of this rottin' valley, to the world beyond,"
But a man chooses where he dies,
And even if I never see the sun rise,
I think this old boy will die in Hazard town.