You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive chords by Darrell Scott

Verse 1:

        Dm         F        C          G
In the deep, dark hills of eastern Kentucky
            Dm             F            Bb
That's the place where I trace my bloodline
          Bb      F         C         G
And it's there I read on a hillside gravestone
          Bb          A7      Dm
You will never leave Harlan alive


Verse 2:

         Dm         F               C             G
Well my granddad?s dad walked down Katahrins Mountain
              Dm            F         Bb
And he asked Tillie Helton to be his bride
                 Bb        F             C             G
Said, won't you walk with me out of the mouth of this holler
          Bb          A7      Dm
Or we'll never leave Harlan alive

Chorus:

                    F        Bb  C       F
Where the sun comes up about ten in the morning
             Dm             Bb    F      Bb
And the sun goes down about three in the day
                   F                 Bb      C          F
And you fill your cup with whatever bitter brew you're drinkin?
                    Dm                   Bb          Dm
And you spend your life just thinkin? of how to get away


Verse 3:

        Dm       F               C           G
No one ever knew there was coal in them mountains
            Dm         F         Bb
?Til a man from the Northeast arrived
                Bb     F                C                G
Waving hundred dollar bills said, I'll pay you for your minerals
        Bb         A7     Dm
But he never left Harlan alive

Bb   A7   Dm


Verse 4:

        Dm       F                    C           G
Granny sold out cheap and they moved out west of Pineville
            Dm          F          Bb
To a farm where big Richland River winds
            Bb     F            C                 G
I bet they danced them a jig, laughed and sang a new song
        Bb         A7     Dm
Who said we'd never leave Harlan alive

Instrumental Break: (same chords as verse)


Verse 5:

               Dm            F           C        G
But the times they got hard and tobacco wasn?t selling
             Dm             F          Bb
And ole granddad knew what he'd do to survive
            Bb          F            C                  G
He went and dug for Harlan coal and sent the money back to granny
        Bb         A7     Dm
But he never left Harlan alive


Chorus:

                    F        Bb  C       F
Where the sun comes up about ten in the morning
             Dm             Bb    F      Bb
And the sun goes down about three in the day
                   F                 Bb      C          F
And you fill your cup with whatever bitter brew you're drinkin?
                    Dm                   Bb          F
And you spend your life just thinkin? of how to get away



Last Chorus:
                    F        Bb  C       F
Where the sun comes up about ten in the morning
             Dm             Bb    F      Bb
And the sun goes down about three in the day
                   F                 Bb      C          F
And you fill your cup with whatever bitter brew you're drinkin?
                    Dm                         Bb             Dm
And you spend your life digging coal from the bottom of your grave


Last verse:  (one strum for each chord and let it ring)
       Dm
In the deep, dark hills of eastern Kentucky
            Dm
That's the place where I trace my bloodline
          Dm
And it's there I read on a hillside gravestone
        Dm
You'll never leave Harlan alive