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06 Dec 01 - 11:12 AM (#604924) Subject: Lyr Add: YOU'LL NEVER LEAVE HARLAN ALIVE (D Scott) From: Stewie YOU'LL NEVER LEAVE HARLAN ALIVE (Darrell Scott) In the deep, dark hills of eastern Kentucky That's the place where I traced my bloodline And it's there I read on a hillside gravestone 'You'll never leave Harlan alive' Oh, my grandfather's dad crossed the Cumberland Mountains Where he took a pretty girl to be his bride Said, 'Won't you walk with me out of the mouth of this holler Or we'll never leave Harlan alive' Where the sun comes up about ten in the morning And the sun goes down about three in the day And you fill your cup with whatever bitter brew you're drinkin' And you spend your life just thinkin' of how to get away No one ever knew there was coal in them mountains 'Till a man from the northeast arrived Waving hundred dollar bills, said, 'I'll pay for your minerals' But he never left Harlan alive Grandma sold out cheap and they moved out west to Pineville To a farm where Big Richland River winds And I bet they danced them a jig, and they laughed and sang a new song 'Who said we'd never leave Harlan alive But the times they got hard and tobacco wasn't selling And old granddad knew what he'd do to survive He went and dug for Harlan coal, and sent the money back to grandma But he never left Harlan alive Where the sun comes up about ten in the morning And the sun goes down about three in the day And you fill your cup with whatever bitter brew you're drinkin' And you spend your life digging coal from the bottom of your grave You'll never leave Harlan alive Source: Patty Loveless 'Mountain Soul' Epic EK 85651 --Stewie.
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06 Dec 01 - 12:58 PM (#604979) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive From: Joe Offer Stewie, do you have any idea when this was written, or anything about the background of the song? Seems to me there was mention of this song s few weeks ago - it's a gem. -Joe Offer- |
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06 Dec 01 - 03:12 PM (#605108) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive From: GUEST,BigDaddy Here's the songwriter's website: click |
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06 Dec 01 - 05:41 PM (#605222) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive From: Stewie Sorry, Joe, I have no background to the song. I know of Scott only from his beaut Howdy Skies CD with Tim O'Brien and as a session muso. I had been to the website linked by BigDaddy, but it doesn't shed any light on this song. It seems that Patty Loveless was drawn to it because her father 'worked at Federal Mines [Elkhorn City,KY], four miles into the earth, sometimes mining coal on his knees'. --Stewie. |
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06 Dec 01 - 06:27 PM (#605260) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive From: Stewie Searching the net for more info, I found a site with an MP3 of Scott performing the song at 1997 Telluride Bluegrass Festival: --Stewie. |
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06 Dec 01 - 06:44 PM (#605273) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive From: bigchuck I've got it on Darrel's CD called Aloha Nashville. It is indeed a great song by a fine writer and musician. Same CD also has a great song based on Old Joe Clark. Sandy |
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22 Apr 11 - 10:19 PM (#3140782) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive From: katlaughing There is a REALLY nice video of Scott singing this song on youtube HERE. Beautiful song, voice, and pickin'. |
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22 Apr 11 - 11:12 PM (#3140800) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive From: michaelr Check out this version from Transatlantic Sessions. With Jerry Douglas, Aly Bain, Russ Barenberg, Karen Matheson, etc. Transatlantic Sessions has got to be the most brilliant trad series ever made for TV. |