Dark as a Dungeon
Dark as a Dungeon
Classic Country
Waltzes
Key
Chords
A
D
E
Get the Grass app: 300+ songs, 700+ local jams, demo videos, lessons, and more.
★ 5.0 · Free
Chord Chart
Backing Track
Lyrics
Come all you young fellows
so young and so fine
And seek not your fortune
in the dark dreary mine
It'll form as a habit
and seep in your soul
Till the stream of your blood
is as black as the coal
It's dark as a dungeon
and damp as the dew
where the dangers are double
and the pleasures are few
Where the rain never falls
and the sun never shines
Lord it's a dark as a dungeon
way down in the mines
Well it's many a man
that I've seen in my day
Who lived just to labor
his whole life away
Like a fiend with his dope
or a drunkard his wine
A man must have lust
for the lure of the mine
Well I hope when I'm gone
all the ages shall roll
my body would blacken
and turn into coal
Then I'll look from the door
of my heavenly home
And pity the miner
who are digging my bonesDemo Videos
About This Song
Dark as a Dungeon was written by Merle Travis in 1946 and made famous by his recording and later by Johnny Cash. It's a haunting coal mining song that's become a bluegrass standard, though it's actually a waltz in 3/4 time—giving it a distinctive sway that sets it apart from most bluegrass songs.
