He's a poor man cause mining's all he's known And miners don't get rich loading coalHe's a sick man cause the coal dust took its stand But he don't expect to get no help from that operator manWell it's goodbye old-timer, I guess our time has come Those waterholes, that dirty coal dust eating up our lungsWe'll leave this world just as poor as the day we saw the sun Well it's goodbye old-timer, all your mining is doneI remember the time when I could load more coal than any man Now my health is gone, buried in, down in that dirty groundAnd they've taken away my right, privilege to be a man But I know that I can't tell all that to that operator manWell it's goodbye old-timer, I guess our time has come Those waterholes, that dirty coal dust eating up our lungsWe'll leave this world just as poor as the day we saw the sun Well it's goodbye old-timer, all your mining is doneRemember old-timer, when we were little kids We'd talk about our mining days when we got grown and bigBut now we're all broken men, they don't need us around Though we gave our lives to make them rich, they won't give us a dimeWell it's goodbye old-timer, I guess our time has come Those waterholes, that dirty coal dust eating up our lungsWe'll leave this world just as poor as the day we saw the sun Well it's goodbye old-timer, all your mining is done*