Some people says the man's made out of mud,
Some people says of muscle and blood
Muscle and blood and skin and bone,
A mind that's week and a back that's strong
You load sixteen tons, so what do you get,
Another day older and deeper in debt
So, St. Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go,
I owe my soul to the company store

I was born one morning when the sun didn't shine,
Picked up my shovel and I went to the mine
I loaded sixteen ton of number nine coal,
The straw-boss said, "God-dog your soul"
You load sixteen tons and, now, what do you get,
Another day older and deeper in debt
So, St. Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go,
I owe my soul to the company store

I was born one mornin' when it was drizzle in rain,
Fightin' and shootin' is my middle name
Born in a canebreak by an ol' mama hound,
No high-tone mama can make me walk the line
I load sixteen tons, so what do you get,
Another day older and deeper in debt
So, St. Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go,
I owe my soul to the company store

You see me comin' you better step aside,
A lot of men didn't and a whole lot of them died
One fist of iron and one of steal,
The right one don't get you, boy, the left one will
So, load sixteen ton, what do you get,
Another day older and deeper in debt
So, St. Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go,
I owe my soul to the company store