Lyrics: HoonBlues
Music: HoonBlues
Arranger: HoonBlues
When the dawn is pale
far less bright than candlelight
I board the groaning tram
that grinds into the mountain's gut
Three coins clink in my pocket thin
One penny for one crust
They ask me "what you wanna be"
To trade this dust for their champagne lust
Noontime. I surface
Sun stabs my eyes like broken glass
Those ale-soaked scum
Thick with spite, they stagger past
New century, new cage, new opportunity
I need to climb up, can only climb up
The never-reached ladder
I chisel the rock
then I breathe the dust
and I cough in the dark
just like them still cursing luck
'til I climb the ladder
covered with rust and rot
climb or die
Ain't nothing gonna stop me
A heel of bread, a taste of beer
Share with my old man
Last of the old guard here
When everything is gone
the man I was is gone
Map in hand, I'm walking through
the key shot of my life
The never-reached ladder
I light the fuse
detonate the dark
dust and flame fill the air
just like them still cursing luck
'til I climb the ladder
covered with rust and rot
climb or die
climb or die
Gold ain't gold
that is fool's plot
sky stays high
the cage still keeps dropping
Father's lungs
The son's sin
Climb or die
Climb or die