Spoken Introduction:
This song is dedicated to my father, Dan McFee,
who worked in the coal mines of Cape Breton.
It's a working man I am,
And I've been down underground,
And I swear to God, if I ever see the sun,
Or for any length of time,
I can hold it in my mind,
I never again will go down underground.

At the age of sixteen years,
He quarrels with his peers,
Who vow they'll never see another one,
In the dark recess of the mine,
Where you age before your time,
And the coal dust lies heavy on your lungs.

It's a working man I am,
And I've been down underground,
And I swear to God, if I ever see the sun,
Or for any length of time,
I can hold it in my mind,
I never again will go down underground.

At the age of sixty-four,
He'll greet you at the door,
And he'll gently lead you by the arm,
Through the dark recess of the mine,
Oh, he'll take you back in time,
And he'll tell you of the hardships that were his.

It's a working man I am,
And I've been down underground,
And I swear to God, if I ever see the sun,
Or for any length of time,
I can hold it in my mind,
I never again will go down underground.

It's a working man I am,
And I've been down underground,
And I swear to God, if I ever see the sun,
Or for any length of time,
I can hold it in my mind,
I never again will go down underground.
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{G}It's a working man I am,
And I've {C}been down un{G}derground,
And I swear to God, if I ever see {D}the sun,
{G}Or for any length of time,
I can {C}hold it in my {G}mind,
I never again will {D}go un{G}derground.