Sixteen Tons
Lyrics:
[English]
Some people say a man is made out of mud
A poor man's made outta muscle and blood
Muscle and blood and skin and bones
You've got a mind that's weak and a back that's strong
You load sixteen tons and what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt
St. Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store
St. Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
St. Peter don't you call me to the company store
St. Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store, come on.
(Hmmm....)
I was born on a morning when the Sun didn't shine
I picked up my shovel and I walked to the mine
I loaded Sixteen tons of number nine coal and the straw boss said
"WELL, BLESS MY SOUL!" 💪
You load sixteen tons and what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt
St. Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store, yeah.
I was born one morning in the drizzling' rain
Fighting' and trouble have been my middle name
I was raised in the cane break by an ol' mama lion
Can't no high toned woman make me walk the line
Sixteen tons and what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt
St. Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store.
If you see me comin' better step aside
A lot of men didn't; a lot of men died
One fist of iron and the other of steel
If the left one don't gotcha then the right one will you load -
SIXTEEN TONS (What do you get?)
Another day older and deeper in debt
St. Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store.
St. Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
St. Peter don't you call me to the company store
St. Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I OWE MY SOUL... (Super dramatic bend to a low F# 😉)
To the com-pa-ny-eeeeee STORE.
St. Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
Vocabulary in this song:
Vocabulary | Meanings |
---|---|
man /mæn/ A1 |
|
muscle /ˈmʌs.əl/ B1 |
|
blood /blʌd/ A2 |
|
debt /dɛt/ B1 |
|
soul /soʊl/ B2 |
|
store /stɔːr/ A2 |
|
mine /maɪn/ B1 |
|
load /loʊd/ B1 |
|
call /kɔːl/ A2 |
|
strong /strɔːŋ/ A2 |
|
old /oʊld/ A1 |
|
iron /ˈaɪ.ərn/ B2 |
|
fist /fɪst/ B1 |
|
trouble /ˈtrʌb.əl/ B1 |
|
Grammar:
-
You load sixteen tons and what do you get?
➔ Question form with auxiliary 'do' for emphasis
➔ 'do' is used here to form a question and emphasize the action
-
Another day older and deeper in debt
➔ Comparison using 'and' to link adjectives
➔ 'and' connects two adjectives to show an increase in intensity
-
St. Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
➔ Contraction of 'do not' in negative questions
➔ 'don't' is a contraction of 'do not', used here to form a negative question
-
I owe my soul to the company store
➔ Use of 'owe' in the present tense to express debt
➔ 'owe' indicates that someone has an obligation or debt to something or someone
-
Come on.
➔ Imperative sentence, encouraging or urging someone to do something
➔ Used to encourage someone to proceed or take action