Sixteen Tons
E870116
"Sixteen Tons" is a 1955 country and folk song, famously performed by Tennessee Ernie Ford, that portrays the hardships and debt-driven life of coal miners.
Statements (68)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
single
ⓘ
song ⓘ |
| chartPosition |
number 1 on Billboard country chart
ⓘ
number 1 on Billboard pop chart ⓘ |
| composer | Merle Travis NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| firstRecordingArtist | Merle Travis NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| genre |
country music
ⓘ
country pop ⓘ folk music ⓘ |
| hasMusicalFeature |
bass-baritone lead vocal in Tennessee Ernie Ford version
ⓘ
snap-clap rhythm in Tennessee Ernie Ford version ⓘ |
| hasTheme |
company town life
ⓘ
economic injustice ⓘ labor exploitation ⓘ |
| inspiredBy | experiences of Kentucky coal miners ⓘ |
| label | Capitol Records NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| lyricist | Merle Travis NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| lyricQuote |
Another day older and deeper in debt
ⓘ
I owe my soul to the company store ⓘ You load sixteen tons, what do you get? ⓘ |
| notableLine |
I owe my soul to the company store
ⓘ
Saint Peter, don’t you call me ’cause I can’t go ⓘ |
| notablePerformer |
Johnny Cash
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Tennessee Ernie Ford NERFINISHED ⓘ The Weavers NERFINISHED ⓘ Tom Jones NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| originalLanguage | English ⓘ |
| popularizedBy | Tennessee Ernie Ford NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| recordedBy |
B.B. King
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Bo Diddley NERFINISHED ⓘ Eric Burdon NERFINISHED ⓘ Johnny Cash NERFINISHED ⓘ LeAnn Rimes NERFINISHED ⓘ Merle Travis NERFINISHED ⓘ Robbie Williams NERFINISHED ⓘ Tennessee Ernie Ford NERFINISHED ⓘ The Browns NERFINISHED ⓘ The Chieftains NERFINISHED ⓘ The Dandy Warhols NERFINISHED ⓘ The Dave Brubeck Quartet NERFINISHED ⓘ The Fendermen NERFINISHED ⓘ The Flying Pickets NERFINISHED ⓘ The Grateful Dead NERFINISHED ⓘ The Jordanaires NERFINISHED ⓘ The Kentucky Headhunters NERFINISHED ⓘ The Long Ryders NERFINISHED ⓘ The Man in Black Johnny Cash NERFINISHED ⓘ The Mavericks NERFINISHED ⓘ The Meat Puppets NERFINISHED ⓘ The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band NERFINISHED ⓘ The Oak Ridge Boys NERFINISHED ⓘ The Platters NERFINISHED ⓘ The Residents NERFINISHED ⓘ The Shadows NERFINISHED ⓘ The Spinners NERFINISHED ⓘ The Statler Brothers NERFINISHED ⓘ The Ventures NERFINISHED ⓘ The Weavers NERFINISHED ⓘ Tom Jones NERFINISHED ⓘ Tom Jones and Jerry Lee Lewis NERFINISHED ⓘ Tom Morello NERFINISHED ⓘ ZZ Top NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| releaseYear | 1955 ⓘ |
| subjectMatter |
coal miners
ⓘ
debt bondage ⓘ hardship of working-class life ⓘ |
| writer | Merle Travis NERFINISHED ⓘ |
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.