“Bitter Angels”
By Marty Rosen

They broke down foggy mountain and they hauled away the coal
They scraped away the shady grove and left an empty hole
My daddy used to walk this ground and raise his voice on high
Now his spirit haunts these hollow hills, he hangs his head and cries

The bitter angels of our nature are singin out of tune
Bitter angels flying underneath a black Kentucky moon
Bitter angels bitter angels, they used to sing a mountain song
But how you gonna sing a mountain song when the mountains are all gone?

Our banjos used to ripple clear and clean as mountain springs
Now our creeks are crippled up, like a pile of rusted strings
We played fire on the mountain and we dreamt our wildwood dreams
Now our home is splittin up at the seams

The bitter angels of our nature lookin for a place to land
Bitter angels bitter angels, where the mountains used to stand
Bitter angels bitter angels used to sing a mountain song
But how you gonna sing a mountain song when the mountains are all gone?

It was dark as a dungeon way down in the mines
In the roots of these mountains where the sun never shines
But we could always hear that angel band singin those ancient tones
And that high lonesome sound raised our weary bones

The bitter angels of our nature are singin out of tune
Bitter angels flying underneath a black kentucky moon
Bitter angels bitter angels used to sing a mountain song
But how you gonna sing a mountain song when the mountains are all gone?