John Kirkpatrick 1994
Under the ground lay Old King Coal, he lay most peacefully
He ruled in might and splendor, there was none so grand as he
But men came along to tunnel him out and topple him from his throne
They tore him down to steal his crown for the power in the old black stone
Chorus:
There’s fire in the heart of Old King Coal
There’s the strength of centuries in his soul
There’s a power that grows where his black blood flows
So here’s to Old King Coal
So they scratched him, hacked him, and harried him out, they ripped him from his bed
And they blast his bones asunder, they’d sworn to seen him dead
They they carried him out to the sun’s bright light which blinded him in the eye
And the blood did drain from every vein until they’d drained him dry
Then they cracked his bones on the grinding stones, how gleefully they did grind
Oh how they pulverized him, turned him to dust so fine
Then they sprayed him into the furnace fire and burned him in the air
With a mighty blast, they burned him fast, as he prayed his final prayer
And his soul cried out with a final song as he reached his final hour
And his heart it burst with singing, so mighty was the power
And he sang the water into steam and the steam made the wheels fly round
And the song ran on both pure and strong til the wires hummed with its sound
Out of the darkness there comes light, out of the earth comes fire
Out of the cold comes comfort, as his bones go blazing higher
And his soul flies out through the air we breathe and down on the earth we tread
That humankind may not forget that Old King Coal is dead