Some people say a man is made out of mud
A poor man's made out of muscle and blood
Muscle and blood and skin and bones
A mind that's a weak and a back that's strong
You load sixteen tons
What do you get another day
Older and deeper in debt
Saint peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store
I was born one morning when the sun didn't shine
I picked up my shovel and I walked to the mine
I loaded sixteen tons of number nine coal
And the straw boss said well I bless my
You load sixteen tons
What do you get another day
Older and deeper in debt
Saint peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store
I was born one mornin' it was drizzlin' rain
Fightin' and trouble are my middle name
I was raised in the canebrake by an ol' mama line canoe
A high toned woman made me walk the line
You loaded sixteen tons
What do you get another day
Older and deeper in debt
Saint peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store
If you see me coming better step aside
A lot of men didn't a lot of men died
One fist of iron the other of steel
If the right one don't get you
Then the left one will you load
Sixteen tons what do you get another day
Older and deeper in debt
Saint peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul
To the company store