I was born one stormy night
Then a hard rain started fallin'
Daddy died inside a mine
Mama cried but she kept goin'
I left school for a job
Mama begged me not to take
Of running Kentucky shine
Down the Harlan County Highway

And then I married Lorraine
She gave our baby my name
Lord, that woman tried
More with each passing day
What started out as heaven
Got lost along the way
So I turned off
Down the Harlan County Highway

Way down in Louisville
Where the ponies run
Where a man can turn a dollar
Into a hundred on a hunch
He can buy his dreams
Or heaven for a smile
Temptation calls from every corner
Seven corners in a mile
Shackled to a highway call
My bones ache to keep rovin'
I'm standin' in the cold
With all my cards a showin'
What's the use of runnin'?
And nothing but runnin' left to do
Look for me 'cause I'll be a comin'
Or a goin', one of the two