A Canary's Song

I remember mountain mornings
So quiet I could almost hear
The wind in the Red Tail's feathers
And the breathin' of the deer

Those old tracks seem to go forever
As a child I'd walk all day
Finding diamonds in the cinders
And pickin' chunks of coal away

As the morning faded to evening
Then so to came our time
To follow down in my Daddy's footsteps
And leave the mountain for the mine

We'd always bring a proud canary
Our link to the world of air
And we knew while she kept singin'
We wouldn't suffocate down there

While the Mockin' Bird warbled
Near the mountain stream
Down in the mine
A canary sang
In a deep dark hole
Men didn't belong
We listened to our lives
In a canary's song

(instrumental)

We'd listen for the sunlight
For wings against the sky
We'd listen for the dreams
That make men try

Once again I left the mountain
To find work when the mine shut down
Those old tracks don't go forever
The end in this hole they call uptown

All I brought was this canary
As I wake from dreams of home
While I pray I'll hear her singin'
And fear a silence cold as stone

While the Mockin' Bird warbles
Near the mountain stream
In a cold water room
A canary sings
Livin' in this hole
Where I don't belong
I listen to my life
In a canary's song

While the Mockin' Bird warbles
Near the mountain stream
In a cold water room
A canary sings
Livin' in this hole
Where I don't belong
I listen to my life
In a canary's song

(Instrumental close)