Get It On Down the Line

When I got old enough to realise the life we had was tough
I asked my daddy why he thought that shack would be enough
For three consumptive children and a life that ain't never fun
And here's what my daddy told me, "Son,
You can work in a coal mine
you can make a little moonshine
Or you can get it on down the line."

So off I went to school just to learn to write and read
When you work behind the mule that's the stuff that you won't need
So I asked that lady if these books would set me free
And here's what that lady said to me:
You can work in a coal mine
you can make a little moonshine
Or you can get it on down the line

So I asked my grandpa just before he passed away,
If there was something he might tell me if there was something he could say
Did the sunshine ever last or was life just the sweat of brow
And here's what my grandpa did allow:
You can work in a coal mine
you can make a little moonshine
Or you can get it on down the line

When my boy is old enough to ask about my life
Why I got to bust my ass for children and a wife
With a stack of bills that's piled so high that work is never done
Here's what I'm gonna tell my son:
You can work in a coal mine
you can make a little moonshine
Or you can get it on down the line