Jesse got trapped in a coal mine, digging in the dark black pearl Jesse got trapped in a coal mine, never did marry his girl There ain't no air, and there ain't no light And there ain't no way to make it out alive His wedding was planned for the 5th of July But Jesse got trapped in a coal mine and never did marry his girl Your hands gets black and your eyes gets burned, your lungs get tired and poor It draws you in like a opium den, and beckons you back for more There ain't no air and there ain't no light And there ain't no way to make it out alive His wedding was planned for the 5th of July But Jesse got trapped in a coal mine and never did marry his girl Down, down under West Virginia Down, down in the pitch black earth Down, down on her knees she cried My love is somewhere in that mountain Jesse got trapped in a coal mine, digging in the dark black pearl Jesse got trapped in a coal mine, never did marry his girl She held out hope for a couple of months that he was still living somewhere That he'd put up the strongest kind of fight And he'd dig himself out with the dynamite, And he'd finally be free on the 5th of July But Jesse got trapped in the coal mine and never did marry his girl Down, down under West Virginia Down, down in the pitch black earth Down, down on her knees she cried Down, down deep below the surface Down, down by the mason-dixon line Down, down on her knees she cried My love is somewhere in that mountain