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Some people say a man is made out of mud 00:00
A poor man's made outta muscle and blood 00:05
Muscle and blood and skin and bones 00:08
You've got a mind that's weak and a back that's strong 00:11
You load sixteen tons and what do you get? 00:15
Another day older and deeper in debt 00:19
St. Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go 00:22
I owe my soul to the company store 00:26
St. Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go 00:29
St. Peter don't you call me to the company store 00:32
St. Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go 00:36
I owe my soul to the company store, come on. 00:39
(Hmmm....) 00:43
I was born on a morning when the Sun didn't shine 00:49
I picked up my shovel and I walked to the mine 00:53
I loaded Sixteen tons of number nine coal and the straw boss said 00:56
"WELL, BLESS MY SOUL!" 💪 01:01
You load sixteen tons and what do you get? 01:03
Another day older and deeper in debt 01:07
St. Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go 01:10
I owe my soul to the company store, yeah. 01:14
I was born one morning in the drizzling' rain 01:20
Fighting' and trouble have been my middle name 01:24
I was raised in the cane break by an ol' mama lion 01:27
Can't no high toned woman make me walk the line 01:30
Sixteen tons and what do you get? 01:34
Another day older and deeper in debt 01:38
St. Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go 01:40
I owe my soul to the company store. 01:44
If you see me comin' better step aside 01:49
A lot of men didn't; a lot of men died 01:53
One fist of iron and the other of steel 01:57
If the left one don't gotcha then the right one will you load - 02:00
SIXTEEN TONS (What do you get?) 02:05
Another day older and deeper in debt 02:08
St. Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go 02:11
I owe my soul to the company store. 02:15
St. Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go 02:18
St. Peter don't you call me to the company store 02:22
St. Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go 02:25
I OWE MY SOUL... (Super dramatic bend to a low F# 😉) 02:30
To the com-pa-ny-eeeeee STORE. 02:37
St. Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go 02:42

Sixteen Tons

By
Tennessee Ernie Ford
Viewed
23,767,226
Learn this song

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
  • noun
  • - an adult male human

muscle

/ˈmʌs.əl/

B1
  • noun
  • - a band of fibrous tissue that can contract and produce movement

blood

/blʌd/

A2
  • noun
  • - the red liquid that circulates in the bodies of humans and animals

debt

/dɛt/

B1
  • noun
  • - something, typically money, that is owed to someone else

soul

/soʊl/

B2
  • noun
  • - the spiritual or immaterial part of a human being

store

/stɔːr/

A2
  • noun
  • - a place where goods are sold

mine

/maɪn/

B1
  • noun
  • - a place where minerals are extracted from the earth

load

/loʊd/

B1
  • verb
  • - to put a load on or in something

call

/kɔːl/

A2
  • verb
  • - to speak to someone on the phone or to shout out to someone

strong

/strɔːŋ/

A2
  • adjective
  • - having great physical power or strength

old

/oʊld/

A1
  • adjective
  • - having lived for a long time; not young

iron

/ˈaɪ.ərn/

B2
  • noun
  • - a strong, hard magnetic silvery-gray metal

fist

/fɪst/

B1
  • noun
  • - a person's hand when the fingers are bent in towards the palm

trouble

/ˈtrʌb.əl/

B1
  • noun
  • - problems or difficulties

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