SIXTEEN TONS 
(Merle Travis)

Merle Travis - 1953
Tennessee Ernie Ford - 1955
Johnny Desmond - 1955
Frankie Laine - 1955
Edmund Hockridge - 1956
The Weavers - 1956
Eddy Arnold - 1956
Kate Smith - 1958
Homer & Jethro - 1960
Jimmy Dean - 1961
Bo Diddley - 1961
Oscar Brown Jr. - 1962
The Hi-Lo's - 1963
Vance Arnold & The Avengers** - 1963
Dave Dudley - 1964
Johnny Sandon - 1964
Lorne Greene - 1965
Billy Strange - 1965
Red Sovine - 1966
Harry Nilsson - 1966
Stevie Wonder - 1966
Tom Jones - 1967
Johnnie Taylor - 1967
James & Bobby Purify - 1968
CCS - 1972
Jerry Reed - 1973
Lester "Roadhog" Moran & the Cadillac Cowboys** - 1974
Don Harrison Band - 1976
Johnny Carroll - 1977
Deja Voodoo - 1984
Restless - 1994
Jim Post - 1987
Frank Tovey - 1989
Eric Burdon - 1990
Paul Mark & The Van Dorens - 1991
The Cactus Brothers - 1993
Perla Batalla - 1994
Mustard's Retreat - 1994
Jeffrey Evans & '68 Comeback - 1994
Tuff - 1995
Western Flyer - 1996
Michael Ballew - 1997
Hello Dave - 1998
C. D. Morris - 1998
Jason And The G-men - 1999
Jed Clampit - 2000
Dizzy Elmer - 2000
Red Stick Ramblers - 2003

Also recorded by: Johnny Cash; Sleepy LaBeef; Mac Wiseman; 
George Davis; The Nighthawks; Leon Russell; Hank Thompson; 
Stan Ridgway; The Platters; Big Bill Broonzy; Brave Combo; 
Johnny "Big Moose" Walker; Charlie Daniels; Roger Chapman; 
Slow Natives; Jimmy Murphy; Hermanos Barron. 


**Vance Arnold aka Joe Cocker
**Lester "Roadhog" Moran aka The Statler Brothers  


Some people say man is made out of mud
A poor man's made out of muscle and blood
Muscle and blood and skin and bone
A mind that's a-weak and a back that's strong

You load sixteen tons and what do you get
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store

I was born one mornin' when the sun didn't shine
I picked up my shovel and I walked to the mine
I loaded sixteen tons of number nine coal
And the store-boss said the "Well-a bless my soul"

You load sixteen tons and what do you get
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store

I was born one mornin', it was drizzlin' rain
Fightin' and trouble are my middle name
I was raised in the cane-brake by an old mama lion
Cain't no a high-tone woman make me walk the line

You load sixteen tons and what do you get
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store

If you see me comin', better step aside
A lot of men didn't and a lot of men died
One fist of iron, the other of steel
If the right one don't git ya, then the left one will

You load sixteen tons and what do you get
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store


**Some versions substitute "Say Brother" for "Saint Peter".