Coal Dust on the Lamb

(Verse 1) Sixteen summers bleedin' into fall, Daddy's shadow stretched across the wall. His words like whiskey, burnin' down my throat, Kicked me out to wander, wearin' a thin coat. Pikeville hollers echoed with my shame, Innocence a flicker, dyin' in the flame. (Verse 2) Found a floor to sleep on, kindness in a stranger's eye, But the mountain cold seeped in, beneath a starless sky. Traded school books for a pick and shovel's weight, Coal dust settled on my dreams, sealin' up their fate. This broken arm, a constant ache, a twisted memory, Of a boy who used to dream beneath a dogwood tree. (Chorus) Coal dust on the lamb, a stain that won't come clean, Lost my way back home, a forgotten, faded scene. These coal-stained hands, they hold the weight of sin, Prayin' for redemption, hopin' God lets me in. (Verse 3) Sunrise paints the mountain ridge, a fiery, bloody hue, Another day of breakin' back, another debt to accrue. The fields stretch out before me, endless rows of green, But all I see is darkness, a fractured, broken scene. This ain't the life I pictured, beneath the mountain's gaze, Just a broken boy, lost in a lonely, hazy maze. (Bridge) Mama's hymnals echo, a whisper in the wind, A memory of comfort, a peace I can't pretend. Will I ever feel that grace again, that gentle, lovin' hand? Or am I destined to wander, a ghost in this promised land? (Chorus) Coal dust on the lamb, a stain that won't come clean, Lost my way back home, a forgotten, faded scene. These coal-stained hands, they hold the weight of sin, Prayin' for redemption, hopin' God lets me in. (Outro) Lord, have mercy, on this coal-stained soul, Lead me back to the fold, make me whole. Make me whole.