When they blast the heads off mountains just to reach the coal below
And they turn the rock to fountains and it falls to Earth like snow
Then there’s one thing to be sure of as they launch their dumb attack
They can tear the heads off mountains but they sure can’t put them back
That is what bold Larry Gibson said who fought Big Coal for years
As his spirit kept on shining through the hardship & the tears
For he faced the vested interests in defence of his own land
Larry Gibson was a hero for he made a hero’s stand
Chorus:
Oh they can’t put them back - no - they can’t put them back
They can blow the tops of mountains but they can’t put them back
Coal from West Virginia has washed down the Ohio
Rode the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
There’s 500 headless mountains that will never speak again
For the company accountants had them liquidised for gain
They were nature’s sacred places that were carved way back in time
Now they’re scarred and bear the traces of starvation & decline
As the birds look down on craters where the trees once slept with stars
They could name & shame the traitors who have turned their land to Mars
Please remember Larry Gibson for he dared to speak his mind
While the breath was in his body he fought hard to lead the blind
Chorus:
Oh the coal from these proud mountains has washed down the Ohio
And it’s rode Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
Now the mountains weep for Gibson and his Kayford Mountain home
Though he was no Henrik Ibsen he made sure made his feelings known
When you peel a virgin mountain like an apple round its core
You leave baleful walls of darkness that are monuments to war
Rest in peace now Larry Gibson Mother Nature’s favourite son
For you lie where they can’t hurt you in your Kayford Mountain home
Chorus:
