Sixteen Tons - Guitar Merle Travis 1947 4/4 32 42 53 50

Home , Merle Travis, Sixteen Tons

Sixteen Tons - Guitar Merle Travis 1947 4/4 32 42 53 50 | 60 62 64 50 Am / Am / 1. Some people say a man is made out of mud. Am / A poor man’s made out of muscle and blood. Am Dm Muscle and blood and skin and bones, F - Am / a mind that’s weak and a back that’s strong.

Chorus: Am / You load sixteen tons, and what do you get? Am / Another day older and deeper in debt. Am Dm Saint Peter don’t call me ‘cause I can’t go, Am 60 62 64 Am / I owe my soul to the com-pa - ny store.

Am / 2. I was born one mornin’ when the sun didn’t shine. Am / I picked up my shovel and I walked to the mine. Am Dm I loaded sixteen tons of number nine coal,

F - Am / And the straw boss said, “Well-a bless my soul”,

(go to next page)

Sixteen Tons (cont)

Am / 3. If you see me comin’ better step aside Am / A lotta men didn’t and a lotta men died. Am Dm One fist of iron and the other of steel, F - Am / If the right one don’t-a get you, then the left one will.

Chorus: Am / You load sixteen tons, and what do you get? Am / Another day older and deeper in debt. Am Dm Saint Peter don’t call me ‘cause I can’t go, Am 60 62 64 Am(2) I owe my soul to the com-pa - ny store.

Guitar: 32 42 53 50 | 60 62 64 50 Am(1)

Written in 1947 by Merle Travis about his coal mining family. His brother John provided some of the lyrics in a letter he wrote to his brother. Based on life in mines in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. Pay in scrip only payable to the company store. Never get out of debt. Tennessee Ernie Ford and Johnny Cash notable recordings. Also performed by Elvis. 7/13/2020