From the recording Tap 'Er Light
Jim Schulz: lead & harmony vocals, guitar, hand claps
Ken Willson: harmony vocals
Dan Nichols: hand claps
Luke Michelson: upright bass
John Joyner: fiddle
Mary Angela Collins: fiddle
Lyrics
The Copper Road
Copper pennies in a drawer gathered from a barroom floor
Got to pay the company store the tally that is owed
Little houses in a line situated by design
Just below the copper mine on the Copper Road
CHORUS
Everyday plays out the same
Just a pawn in a rich man’s game
Still you remain
To carry the load
On the Copper Road
Papa’s walkin’ down the hill lunch bucket in his hand to fill
Another work day at the mill, another episode.
Copper dust in his eyes, copper smoke billows in the skies
A miner’s life holds no surprise on the Copper Road
Chorus
Sister, sister can you sing? There goes another Copper King.
Who shall wear the royal ring and the royal robe?
The Copper Queen in a satin sark will go dancing in the dark
Through the gardens in the park down the Copper Road.
Chorus
A mile high and a mile deep, the Granite Mountain is rough and steep
But you have promises to keep so your back is bent and bowed.
On your knees ten hours a day muckin’ out the copper clay
Just three dollars is your pay on the Copper Road.
Chorus
The whistle of the copper train echoes through the gallows frame
Brother, shout the last refrain of the miners’ code.
Let the shadows be your guide. Can you hear them as they stride?
The ghosts of miners side by side, marching down the Copper Road.