My Father's Son
Ricky Skaggs Lyrics

My history is no secret it's written in the stones
My personal history is well-known and cannot be hidden, as it is recorded and preserved in the stones forever.

In the hill beside this river rest my mother's gentle bones
My mother is buried nearby in a peaceful hill adjacent to a stream.

And daddy there beside her among his next of kin
My father is buried with my mother, resting amongst his other family members.

And their legacy passed down to me the sons of mountain men
My father and mother's legacy have been handed down to me and my brothers as children of men from the mountains who had a deep connection to the land.

Raised to be a miner by a miners callused hands
I was taught to become a miner by my father, who himself was a hardworking miner with hands that were rough from labor.

Passed my youth between these mountains where I grew to understand
I grew up spending my childhood among these mountains, which helped me gain a deeper understanding of the world around me.

That family was the word of God and faith was it's demand
For our family, the most important thing was to live by the teachings of God, which demanded our faith and devotion.

And life and death the same came from the coal beneath this land
The coal beneath this land was the source of our livelihoods and also the cause of our potential demise, as it could endanger our lives as miners.

Well, a rich man writes the book of laws a poor man must defend
Laws are created and written by people who are wealthy, but it is often the less fortunate who are forced to defend and follow them.

But the highest laws are written on the hearts of honest men
The most important laws to follow are those that originate from a person's own values and morals, which are written in their hearts.

If that cup is passed to me to do what must be done
If it is my turn to take on a challenging task or responsibility, I will rise to the occasion.

When they lay me down remind them I was just my father's son
When I pass away, I want people to remember me for who I am: a son who carried on his father's legacy.

I've walked among these people, heard the stories that they tell
I have lived among the local community and heard the experiences and anecdotes that they share with one another.

I've crawled beside them in the mines and touched the walls of hell
I have worked alongside these people in the mines, experiencing the same dangerous and arduous conditions that they face on a daily basis.

I've shared their sacred secrets, known their triumph and their pain
I have been trusted with their deepest secrets and have personally experienced their successes and hardships.

And right or wrong I'll stand with them on the final judgment day
Regardless of what is deemed right or wrong, I will stand by these people on the day of judgment.

They say God gives his comfort when the time of trouble comes
It is believed that God provides comfort during moments of turmoil or crisis.

They say we'll know no share of peace till we lay down our guns
It is believed that we cannot experience true peace until we put an end to violence and war.

But will my boy have the chance to do the things I've never done
I wonder if my son will have the opportunity to accomplish things that I was never able to achieve.

Or will he, like me, be told that he must be his father's son?
Will he also feel the pressure to live up to the expectations of being his father's son?

On a chunk of coal just carve these words, "I was just my father's son"
When I pass away, I want a simple epitaph to be carved on a piece of coal to remember me by, highlighting that I was just my father's son.