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Battle of Blair Mountain Lyrics by David Rovics

Songs For Mahmud

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1921 was the year
Seems like yesterday to me
Let me tell you about what happened then
Back in the mine country
We were fightin' hard to build a union
'Cause at forty cents a ton
There was no way to feed a family
When the minin' day was done
The strike had lasted for a year
When they shot down Smilin' Sid
He was a lawman who stood up for us miners
That's the only crime he ever did
A hundred miners locked up with no trial
There in Mingo-town
But the last straw came in Sharples
When they gunned the women down
(Chorus)
We're marchin' on to Mingo
Ten thousand men and countin'
Here in the hills of West Virginia
At the Battle of Blair Mountain
We shouted through the hillsides
In every union hall
We're marchin' on to Mingo
Teach them a lesson, once and all
We commandeered every freight train
To the Kentucky line
Took every car that crossed our path
And all the guns and ammo we could find
The union leaders tried to stop us
Mother Jones told us to turn back
But we had learned ourselves from the gun thugs
There's a time to talk and a time to attack
We had no leader, we didn't need one
We all knew our way through Logan County
And we all knew once we got there
We're gonna hang Sheriff Chapin from a sour apple tree
(Chorus)
We dug trenches and wore helmets
That we brought from the Argonne
All the way from France to Logan
We fought from dusk to dawn
They dropped explosives from their airplanes
Such a thing you never saw
They shot us with machine guns
It was the operator's law
For three days and nights we fought them
The front was ten miles wide
Every cop and scab in West Virginia
Were there on the other side
President Harding sent in the Army
And we left our line to them
But the hills of West Virginia
Will long remember when
(Chorus)
Credits
David Rovics

David Rovics

About “Battle of Blair Mountain” by David Rovics

Read the complete lyrics to "Battle of Blair Mountain" by David Rovics from the album "Songs For Mahmud". On Lyrks you can follow along with the full text, explore the artist's discography, and discover related songs. The track is often categorized under Pop.

"Battle of Blair Mountain" is performed by David Rovics. from the album "Songs For Mahmud" This page provides the full lyric text for fans who want to sing along, study the songwriting, or compare versions across releases. Lyrks organizes lyrics by artist and song slug so you can bookmark and share a stable URL. Music lyrics help listeners connect with emotion, narrative, and rhythm in a track. Whether you are learning English, researching a favorite chorus, or preparing for karaoke, having accurate line breaks and section labels (verse, chorus, bridge) makes the experience easier. We link to the official artist profile on Lyrks where available, including biography snippets, top songs, and chart placements when we have that data. If you enjoy "Battle of Blair Mountain", explore more songs by David Rovics using the links below. Chart and trending pages on Lyrks highlight what listeners are searching for this week. For copyright or correction requests, see our DMCA and contact pages.

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Frequently asked questions

"Battle of Blair Mountain" is credited to David Rovics. Songwriting credits may include additional writers listed on the release; check the credits section on this page for linked collaborators.

"Battle of Blair Mountain" appears on "Songs For Mahmud".

Visit the David Rovics artist page at /artist/david-rovics for biography, popular tracks, and links to more lyric pages.