Hmmmmm… Hmmmmm… Back when the holler was alive There were long days in the mine Black lungs and black ties And moonshine Granddaddy spoke in riddled tongues Coal dust settling on his lungs Said boy don’t trust the morning sun It lies, it lies Where have all the women gone? Left their shadows in the dawn Porch swings creak but no one’s on Just a hymn without a song Everybody loved the poontang The poontang The poontang Everybody loved the poontang The poontang The poontang Everybody loved the poontang The poontang The poontang Like a preacher loves the wrong thing And calls it right all night long Mama danced in kitchen light Barefoot sermons every night Singing low like something ain’t right Sweet wine Men would line up by the door Tip their hats and beg for more Leave their souls there on the floor Just bones, just bones Where have all the women gone? Burned their names into the sun Left the men to carry on With a hunger never done Everybody loved the poontang The poontang The poontang Everybody fed the slow flame The slow flame The slow flame Everybody loved the poontang Till it turned into a chain Now the holler just echoes With a low, endless pain They dug too deep Not for coal For warmth For touch For something that don’t stay Nothing stays, nothing stays [Female voice - distant] You took and took Till the well ran dry Who you lovin? (What you need?) What you needin? (What you bleed?) Love turned hunger Hunger turned creed Everybody loved the poontang The poontang The poontang Till the holler lost its heartbeat And the night stretched on too long Everybody loved the poontang But the poontang disappeared Now they whisper to the mountains But the mountains never hear Hmmmmm… Hmmmmm… Where have all the women gone
