Heart of the Mountain

Heart of the mountain
Soul of the hills
Ripped from the deepest places
Sacred, precious... valuable.
The Company doesn't care
About the heart or soul.
Heart of the Mountain
Only the black coal
Bought and sold.
Hauled away in truckloads
Hauled away with no care
Hauling precious souls
Draggin' the dead behind
Long trains to the north.

Heart of the mountains
Hauled away in carloads
Draggin' the dead behind
Burned in the smelters
Furnaces, engines, converters
To give light, steel, transportation
To those who mock
The mountains.

Weep, Weep, heart of the Mountains.

And I Shall Sing

And I shall sing
I will stand on the mountaintop
Watch the sun rise over the hollers
With tears I will watch
The first rays of light touch
Cabin and smokehouse, barn and field.
I will hear the sounds of the mountains
Simple songs of daily life
Of hope and dreams
Of the grind of each day
Struggling to make a way.
Proud voices harmonizing
Midst the smell of coffee
And bacon, biscuits and eggs
Cooked early in the dawn
Making ready for a full day.
Maybe I'll spy an old man
Rising early to milk his cows.
Just buttoning his bibs
As he walks to the barn.
I will hear the rooster crow,
As if to say to God
The conductor,
Time for the show.

And God will step
Out on the the clouds,
Look over the hills of home
Start creation's melody
He'll look down on me
As I stand on the mountaintop
As if to give me a cue...
And I shall sing.

copyright 4/16/2006 Stephen Hollen