You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive Uke tab by Darrell Scott

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Intro: Dm

         ↓ Do not play for chords at the end of the line
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       Dm        F        C          G
In the deep dark hills of eastern Kentucky
           Dm            F             Bb
That's the place where I trace my bloodline
         Bb      F         C        G
And it's there I read on a hillside gravestone
         Bb          A7      Dm
You will never leave Harlan alive


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-Dm

       Dm         F               C         G
Oh, my granddad's dad walked down Katahrins Mountain
       Dm           F                Bb
And he asked Tillie Helton to be his bride
                Bb          F           C             G
Said, won't you walk with me out of the mouth of this holler
         Bb          A7     Dm-
Or we'll never leave Harlan alive


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                    F        Bb - C      F
Where the sun comes up about ten  in the morning
                 Dm         Bb
And the sun goes down about three in the day
                  F                 Bb  -  C           F
And you fill your cup with whatever bitter brew you're drinking
                   Dm                    Bb         Dm
And you spend your life just thinkin' of how to get away


       Dm   F              C            G
No one ever knew there was coal in them mountains
       Dm           F         Bb
Till a man from the Northeast arrived
       Bb             F                  C               G
Waving hundred dollar bills he said I'll pay ya for your minerals
       Bb         A7     Dm
But he never left Harlan alive

Bb, A7, Dm

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Dm              F              C                 G
Granny sold out cheap and they moved out west of Pineville
     Dm             F              Bb
To a farm where big Richland River winds
  Bb                     F                C               G
I bet they danced them a jig, laughed and sang a new song
              Bb          A7     Dm
Who said we'd never leave Harlan alive


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Dm, F, C, G
Dm, F

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Bb

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Bb, F, C, G

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Bb, A7

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Dm

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Dm


         ↓ Do not play for chords at the end of the line
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        Dm        F          C            G
But the times got hard and tobacco wasn't selling
        Dm                 F             Bb
And ole granddad knew what he'd do to survive
            Bb             F                 C             G
He went and dug for Harlan coal and sent the money back to granny
       Bb         A7     Dm
But he never left Harlan alive


(Slow strums, once for each chord)
                    F        Bb - C      F
Where the sun comes up about ten  in the morning
                 Dm         Bb
And the sun goes down about three in the day
                  F                 Bb  -  C           F
And you fill your cup with whatever bitter brew you're drinking
                   Dm                    Bb         F
And you spend your life just thinkin' of how to get away


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C|-X---X-----X---X------------------------|
G|----------------------------------------|
                    F        Bb - C      F
Where the sun comes up about ten  in the morning
                 Dm         Bb
And the sun goes down about three in the day
                  F                 Bb  -  C           F
And you fill your cup with whatever bitter brew you're drinking
                   Dm                     Bb                 Dm (strum)
And you spend your life digging coal from the bottom of your grave

         ↓ Do not play for chords at the end of the line
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E|---X---X--------------------------------|
C|-X--------------------------------------|
G|----------------------------------------|
       Dm        F        C          G
In the deep dark hills of eastern Kentucky
           Dm            F             Bb
That's the place where I trace my bloodline
         Bb      F         C        G
And it's there I read on a hillside gravestone
         Bb          A7      Dm (slow strum)
You will never leave Harlan alive



(this is just how I play it so I took a few liberties when writing this up, so it's not exactly like the original).