Old man Tucker worked the Number Three
Thirty hard years under rock and debris
Roof came down one winter day
Left him limpin’ and the mine walked away
Gov’ment papers took their sweet damn time
Bills piled up like slate in the mine
So up the holler in a laurel line
He built a copper pot and started cookin’ shine
We’re runnin’ that shine through the mountain night
Headlights low and the backroads tight
Ain’t for riches, ain’t for crime
Just helpin’ an old coal man get by
The gov’ment forgot him down the line
But up these hills we take care of our own kind
Four bald tires and a jar crate tied
Lord we’re runnin’ that shine tonight
Friday evenings when the whistle blows
Me and the boys change outta work clothes
Coal still stuck in the lines of our skin
But the Ford fires up and we’re rollin’ again
Backroad gravel and a moonlit ridge
Cross the creek by the timber bridge
Trunk full clinkin’ like a Sunday chime
Headin’ down valley with that mountain shine
We’re runnin’ that shine through the mountain night
Headlights low and the backroads tight
Ain’t for riches, ain’t for fame
Just keepin’ food in an old man’s name
The gov’ment forgot him down the line
But up these hills we mind our own kind
Through fog and pine where the foxfires shine
Lord we’re runnin’ that shine tonight
Old man Tucker sits by the still
Leg brace leanin’ against the hill
Says Boys I hate that it’s come to this
We just laugh and pass him a mason lid
‘Cause a miner’s word runs deep as the seam
And a hard hill life makes a tighter team
If the world don’t care when a man’s in a bind
These mountains will, every time
We’re runnin’ that shine through the mountain night
Engines hummin’ under starry light
Ain’t for glory, ain’t for gold
Just standin’ up for our own
The gov’ment forgot him down the line
But these old hills remember every time
Coal dust boys and a jar crate tied
Still runnin’ that shine tonight
“Runnin’ That Shine” is track number 6 on the Thumper Barrel album, No. 3 Mine.
Track: Runnin’ That Shine
Album: No. 3 Mine
ISRC: QZRP52615059
ASCAP: 935192039