Another post in the Heritage series...

I know plenty of boys who think they’ve gotta mine coal.

Cause their daddy did, and his daddy did, and his before him.

But once you go so far back, the Daddy of authentic Appalachia

Would wring all their necks for raping the mountains.

Coal is part of our heritage—as a tragedy!

We can’t honestly be foolish enough to believe

That the first mountaineers

Dug coal to support their family!

These mountains were the Promise Land—

Plentiful, fertile, and rich

W/ wild game, herbs, roots, fruits, and veggies.

Then the mad-men came round,

Taking advantage of our hospitality.

You wanna know what heritage means

To real mountain people?

Chasing the goddamn crook off your porch w/ a shotgun!

And then the news media has its scandal, right?

Calling us uneducated, backwoods, po-dunk, violent retards.

And the people watching safely at home,

Don’t know that the man who came to the door

Was trying to scheme his way into buying our land

To pillage it and prosper, while we broke our back working.

I hate the cowardice of knaves!

We have to be vigilant!

We should be angry!

To Hell w/ our national media portrayal!

I’m gonna give the truth,

Raw as corn whisky,

And if you don’t like it

Bite my fucking bullet!

I’m tired of the calumny spread

About this pristine land!

Adventure-seekers and artistic types

Will be flourishing!

If only we can rid ourselves

Of false heritage.

Christ and coal be damned!

If I can help it.

Open-up to Buddha, Shiva, Zeus—

Who the fuck ever—it doesn’t matter.

Get beyond your rigid perspective,

And become aware of the vast possibilities on this planet.

Courage is our heritage. Strength and self-reliance.

How about we mine those principles for a gem?