My pappy was rich but not famous My ma she was pretty but plain And I always thought My parents they ought To have made miner's strawberries my middle name
CHORUS Oh them good ole miner's strawberries The best stuff that ever you seen I was twenty years old Before I was told That miner's strawberries ain't nothin' but beans
We bathed once a week usin' lye soap In a number two galvanized tub Then sat down to eat With a patch on our seat And a bowl full of miner's strawberries for grub CHORUS
My ma was a queen in the kitchen And many's the time she would say That havin' good health Is better than wealth So we eat miner's strawberries three times a day CHORUS
You can bake 'em or brown 'em or burn 'em Or boil 'em for hours in a pot Then serve 'em up cold A week or two old If you're hungry enough they'll still hit the spot CHORUS
There's many a boy such as I was Who growed up to manhood and found That he was derned lucky Them days in Kentucky To always have miner's strawberries around CHORUS
by Merle Travis from the album Songs of the Coal Mines Capitol ST-1956 recorded in 1963