♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ [ Thunder rumbles ] [ Whistling ] [ Drum beating slowly ] ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ [ Thunder rumbles ] -Papa always said that every new beginning starts with an end.

It's been true for us, livin' our lives here in this place, a place of mountains and myths.

Some think place matters less today in a world where people, things, thoughts, move from here to there, unburdened by geography.

♪♪♪ But here, we know that our bodies are only ever in one place.

♪♪♪ I grew up here, four seasons every year.

Maybe you've heard a story or two about us.

Well, this story is about what it's like to live under.

♪♪♪ [ Indistinct conversations ] -Coal drop coming up here in the -- very, very shortly.

So stick around for that.

All right.

Here we go.

58, 57, 56, 55, 54, 53, 52, 51... 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!

Happy New Year!

[ Horn toots, cheers and applause ] [ Fireworks exploding ] [ Cheering ] [ Barge horn blaring in distance ] -As far back as I can remember, coal has been leaving this place -- on barges, trucks, and trains.

These mountains have tons and tons of coal, more than we could ever get to.

[ Barge horn blares ] [ Birds chirping ] -...fossil fuels, natural gas, and coal.

Coal prices are high right now... -$1.64 is your change, and you have a very good day.

-You too.

Thank you.

-Thank you.

-I don't remember the day that I learned I lived under King Coal.

She won't, either.

I remember going on field trips to the mines.

I remember hummin' along to "Coal Miner's Daughter"... ♪ Well, I was a coal miner's daughter ♪ ...welling up with pride, feeling Loretta had written it just for me.

I remember learning that if I said anything bad about the king, I was betraying my loved ones.

[ Harmonica tooting ] That's when I learned the tension between loyalty and truth.

I learned... [ Harmonica toots loudly, barge horn blares ] ...to be quiet.

I'm still learning.

♪♪♪ Coal is ancient, formed of dead things that lived long ago.

The King was formed by our desire for more.

For most, coal is a dirty polluter, an unglamorous black rock.

♪♪♪ But for those of us who grew up with it, coal is intrinsic.

-Y'all help me out on this one.

I was born one morning when it was drizzling rain.

-I was born morning when it was drizzling rain.

-I picked up my shovel, and I walked to the mines.

-I picked up my shovel, and I walked to the mines.

-I loaded 16 tons of number nine coal.

-I loaded 16 tons of number nine coal.

-And the straw boss said, "Well, bless my soul."

-And the straw boss said, "Well, bless my soul."

Saint Peter, don't you call me?

-'Cause I can't go.

-'Cause I can't go.

-I owe my soul.

-I owe my soul.

-To the company store.

-To the company store.

-We go down about 600 feet.

You go down, and it's got tracks and metal Mantrip cars you ride in that takes you to these sections.

The mines have been worked about 70 years, so it was real, real deep, but it's real good coal for making steel.

It's the most dangerous job in the coal mines and it pays top dollar 'cause you go down in a place, and there's a place about as big as this room.

And I was setting towards the back of my machine, and I rump down on it, I'm gonna go out and get me a load.

And I rumped down on it, and getting ready to swing out there to get me a load and woom!

Big methane explosion happened.

It come right in front of me.

Man, two more seconds, and I'd have been right into that thing, and I heard if a miner gets caught in a methane explosion, it'll burn all the skin off your body, eyeballs out of your socket, and most likely, you're gonna be body parts.

Oh, my goodness.

Yes, sir, ma'am.

-You're very lucky that you didn't get killed.

-Yes.

Yes, ma'am.

-Do you miss being a coal miner?

-Yes, I do.

Yes, sir.

One more -- One more question.

-What is that?

-That's coal.

That's what real coal feels like.

-Can I feel it?

-Yeah.

You can touch it.

-Whoa!

-It feels like diamond.

-Do you know what diamonds feel like?

-Feel that.

[ Indistinct talking ] [ Barge horn blaring ] -The King owns everything.

The land, the coal, our hours.

Truth is, the King isn't alive today, not like he was.

But he's not dead, either.

I guess you could say he's a ghost.

♪♪♪ Over the years, support for the king has waned, so he's found his way into other parts of our life.

-Father, we thank you for this rich source that we celebrate.

Bless West Virginia, Kentucky, and God bless the United States of America.

In Jesus' name, we pray when we all say... -Amen.

[ Siren sounding ] -For nearly a century, we've been told this place is nothing without a king.

All we ever wanted was a way to make a living.

Done.

[ Applause ] [ Children laughing ] [ Train horn blaring ] -I've got, like, costumes of, like, different princesses.

-I used to hate princesses when I was little.

-I was convinced that Minnie Mouse was a princess.

Convinced.

Let's not make more work for ourselves.

-Well, I have an idea.

-This can't be more than 3 minutes.

I'm very over-the-top, so this is gonna be tricky.

-Coking...

It says power generation, smyth-- smithing -- Coking coal and smithing.

-Fertilizer and -- see, look.

Power generation?

-Wait.

Where'd you see that at?

Oh, yeah.

I did not see that.

-Percent of... ..."bituminious" coal.

Or whatever it's called.

-Is coal important to your family?

-I don't know.

Is it to your family?

-Yes.

-I don't know.

-I like this.

-I like this sparkly border.

-After we glue all this one -- After we glue these two on, do you just want to go ahead and put, like, "Coal project" or something?

-Yeah.

"Butimous" -- "Buti-minous."

-Here's what I found from ThoughtCo.com.

The pronunciation of "bituminous" -- "bitamen" in British English and "bitumen" in North America.

-Bituminous.

-Bituminous, bituminous, bituminous, bituminous.

[ Guitar strumming ] [ Indistinct conversations ] ♪ And now I am glad that I did ♪ [ Singing indistinctly ] ♪♪♪ -Every day, the same song plays.

We dance to the beat of the King's drum.

-Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 66th annual Bituminous Coal Queen pageant.

Tonight, you will see 12 young ladies representing their local school district, all vying for the coveted crown worn by so many successful queens before them.

Please welcome candidate number one.

She would like to dedicate this dance to all the coal miners that have lost their lives in the mines, and to let them know we won't forget about them.

We appreciate all that they've done, and their work will never go unnoticed.

Ladies and gentlemen, candidate number one.

[ Applause ] [ Extreme Music's "Hold On" plays ] -♪ It's time to start remembering dreams ♪ ♪ Lift your eyes, see the things unseen ♪ ♪ Remember who you wanna be ♪ ♪ Let the light hit your eyes ♪ ♪ Let out the beauty that's been trapped inside ♪ ♪ Let them know that you're not gonna hide ♪ -I would encourage other young ladies to participate in this pageant by welcoming them and their families into the King Coal Association.

My goal is to share my love of coal with younger girls, as I would love to be a leader for them, as I myself have looked up to many past Coal Queens.

-We are representing Southwestern Pennsylvania's economy, the community, our history.

I challenge you to go out and ask your parents or your grandparents if anyone in your family has ever worked in the coal-mining industry.

And if they have, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by some of the stories you hear.

[ Cheers and applause ] -Thank you, candidate number 12.

[ Cheers and applause continues ] [ Insects chirping, owl hoots ] [ Machinery humming in distance ] -I come from three generations of miners.

My brother, the fourth generation.

Papa used to tell me about the mines, how you got to control all the elements -- earth, air, fire, water -- all the things that try to kill you, crush, suffocate, burn, drown.

He says going underground is like going to space, going somewhere where you're the first person to touch that piece of Earth.

[ Machinery whirring ] [ Machine whirring, rock crumbling ] [ Birds chirping ] One day, when I was little, I tapped my pawpaw on the back, and he just about jumped out of his skin.

He turned around so quick, face white as a ghost.

"Don't sneak up on me," he said gently.

I learned that day that most miners live closer to death that they are more like spiders or birds, that their bodies are more attuned to the sounds, smells, and vibrations that can kill them.

Those of us who don't work underground don't have these magic powers.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ There's not many miners left today, fewer than 12,000 in West Virginia.

But the miners identity is one that gets embedded in their bodies and their souls.

-Once you break for 15 or 20 minutes or whatever and your skin just kind of starts getting comfortable, the threshold goes away, and then it hurts, more or less.

-I've almost got the stencil ready.

So we'll be setting up and tattooing shortly.

So your dad was a miner, too, right?

-Yep.

-Your grandpa a miner, too?

-Yep.

My dad's dad started in the '20s.

-Yeah.

-You know.

So, I mean, that was back in the -- -That was back when everybody was a coal miner.

-Yeah.

8 to 80, blind, crippled, crazy, ain't it?

-Yeah.

If you can ask for the job, you got it.

-Yeah.

-My first day in, I had a rib fall on me.

Second day in, I spent the whole shift dragging hoses out of 3 feet of water.

And then my third day in, I seen a roof collapse as big as the power center, and I was just -- like, it shook me, you know?

-And that was it?

-And that was it, and I quit.

And then, like, later on, I got to thinking about it.

I was like, "You know, it's -- I don't want to say that stuff's common, but that stuff -- your average experienced coal miner has a lot of knowledge about that stuff and how to -- yeah.

You know how to act around it.

You know how to treat it and handle it and whatnot.

And it doesn't really bother you as much because you understand what's going on and why it happened and stuff.

And I didn't, and I was scared to death, and I quit.

But I did get to fall asleep in the coal mines, and that's an experience I'll never forget.

-Mark it off the bucket list?

-Yes, it was worth it.

It was so worth it.

[ Tattoo gun whirring ] -All sorts of days.

-Have you ever been involved in or seen major mine accidents?

-I've known a few.

-Yeah.

-It was about 800-plus-foot hole, 20 feet round.

And they were cutting and welding on it, you know, which he was -- he was cutting at the time, and some slag fell off.

And when it come down, it caught a pocket of methane.

And it, um -- the percussion of it blew out a chain-link fence.

But -- And then they said that it melted the glass -- his glasses frame to his -- to his face.

-Oh, my God.

That creates a kind of bond that you don't just make with any co-worker.

-No.

-But coal mining, you go underground, sacrifice your life.

You sweat and bleed and work.

-Oh, yeah.

-Particular friendship.

-It's family.

And you literally spend more time at work with them guys than you do with your family.

-Right.

-Yeah.

It's gonna look good.

-Mm-hmm.

Yeah, I like it.

-I don't know how to say that.

-Basilosaurus.

-You know what?

We're calling me "Bernie."

He's Bernie.

And then he's Edward.

-Triceperops -- Tri-cer-a-tops.

-Tri-cera-tops I don't know.

Tri-- Tricertops.

-Ceratops.

-Triceratops.

Triceratops.

♪ Triceratops ♪ [ Humming ] -Welcome to the strata vein.

Now, all of this stuff used to be trees and green leaves and ferns.

Oh, no kidding.

Pittsburgh used to look like that tropical forest up in the exhibit all 300 million years ago.

Here, I'll show you.

To make one foot of coal, it takes 20 to 40 feet of dead logs and leaves and things all piled up and then mashed down real hard with a lot of heat for millions and millions of years.

Here.

Take it closer.

See?

You can still see some of the plants in the coal.

-Oh, wow.

-This is enlarged 800 times.

Those yellow shapes are spores and grains of plant resin and cuticle.

The red is wood and bark.

[ Chuckles ] Looks like art, doesn't it?

Well, I guess it kind of is.

-What is that there?

-I don't know, but I see, like...

It's like a huge dragonfly.

-In the beginning, this place was wild.

A rugged chain of mountains, Blue Ridges, Cumberlands, and Alleghenies, rare orchids, ferns, and wild lilies.

Bear, elk, and falcon.

Land tended by the Shawnee, Haudenosaunee, and Cherokee.

Many others before and in between.

Waters deep and old.

Waters that brought in outsiders.

That's when a guy named John came floating on a boat he made out of bison that he killed along the banks of this river.

Ironically named the New River, as it's the second-oldest river in the world.

This place is old.

Older than you, older than me.

Older than the King.

[ Train horn blares in distance ] Then John traveled on foot until he found himself here.

The Lenape called this river Walhondecepe.

It was on the smaller river that John spotted something dark and powerful.

Coal, sitting on the banks.

So he renamed the river Coal River.

♪♪♪ And any dream that river had dreamt before that day was lost.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ -That's a big pothole.

-Yeah.

All this coal is huge.

-Yeah.

But it's not big pieces.

It looks like dust.

Black dust.

It starts like this.

So you go down, up, scoop.

Here you go step, back, and step again.

Then you just turn around and go up.

Yeah.

And just go up and you put -- bring your hands through.

And you grab something and throw it.

♪♪♪ Around.

Yay.

-Yay.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ [ Water dripping ] [ Rumbling ] [ Dark music plays ] ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ [ Birds chirping ] [ Rumbling ] [ Dark music plays ] ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ -Everyone has their own story here.

♪♪♪ For some, the King has provided.

For others, he's stolen.

For some, he's given pride.

For others, he's brought shame.

The land tells a story of the King, too.

This football field was once a mountain, a mountain that became a mine, a mine where this piece of coal was cut.

♪♪♪ [ Cheers and applause ] -Let's go!

-Let's go!

[ Cheers and applause ] ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ -Ladies and gentlemen, before we begin the third quarter of tonight's game, we would like to take a moment to pause and honor the real coal miners who we play for each and every night.

With tonight being Coal Miner Appreciation Night, we would like for all real-life coal miners in the bleachers to please stand and wave to the crowd as we thank and honor you.

You sacrifice so much for the Mingo Central football team, and we are proud to represent you each and every Friday night on the football field as we celebrate the legacy of coal.

Thank you!

-Go, Massey!

Go, Massey!

♪♪♪ [ Bell tolling ] -I'm the kind of person that likes to plan out everything before I do it.

I mean, I'm not saying it ever works.

I'm just saying I just like to.

-I just do it most of the time.

I'm almost done.

Then we can do yours.

-Mm.

What do you want to do when you grow up?

-I've thought about being in the FBI.

But I think I want to be a nurse.

What do you want to be?

-Um, I kind of want to, like, get a scholarship for dancing to, like, a college and then... -Mm-hmm.

-...like study law or get my doctorate, and then dance at hopefully a New York City ballet, like, dance there.

And then just, when I get too old to do that, or when my body just can't take it anymore, I'll probably just do -- I'll probably just use my doctorate or law degree to work someplace.

-Yeah.

-I've grown up in the frail days of our King, but there was a time when he was strong.

It's the late 1930s.

140,000 people, white, black, native, and immigrant work deep underground in West Virginia.

My family is among them.

Some miners' families live in company towns, shop at company stores with company currency.

Every day, the millions of tons of coal we mine leaves these hills.

We stay here.

♪♪♪ The King's men give us seeds to grow these flowers.

They film this footage to show that our soot-covered lives can be beautiful.

On the Sabbath, we sit in the shade of the Mingo oak, the world's largest white oak.

At 577 years old, she stands 145 feet tall, 25 feet around.

Her limbs spread 96 feet wide.

But this spring, her bare branches don't bud.

The King's men say that a fungus killed her.

The people who gather on her dying day know otherwise.

She's suffocated from the fumes of a burning coal waste pile.

As the Mingo oak hits the ground, the King's song gets louder.

The beating of the drum -- coal, coal, coal.

[ Drumming ] ♪♪♪ As if there is no other music in the world.

[ Dark music plays ] ♪♪♪ At the end of the day, when pawpaw was done digging coal, he dug graves.

Still does today.

-Let's see.

Lorraine McMa-- No, that's Miller.

-He keeps a record of where all the bones are buried.

Growing up, he taught me the burial rituals of the past.

Rituals to pay respect so that ghosts don't get trapped in this world and we don't get trapped in our grief.

♪♪♪ Sometimes I wonder if our King's ghost is trapped here.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ We are a haunted people.

♪♪♪ We look to the birds.

A red bird, someone is visiting you from Heaven.

A bobwhite calls, he's praying for rain.

A bird flies into your window... death is coming.

-Good evening, everyone.

-Good evening.

-We'd like to welcome you to our 28th annual West Virginia Coal Festival.

[ Applause ] Men and women who go down into the mines, do so in pursuit of the American dream to have a roof over their head, food on their table, and hope for their children.

-Keep in mind that people have given their lives lost their lives in the coal industry.

The five we have here today... -Another day, another bird.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ -The next one is Timothy K. Collins.

Under the King's reign, death stays close.

-...August 11th.

Brian T. Wallace, 49 years of age... -So we fly like owls, between the worlds.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ -...44 years of age.

January the 14th, 2022, from Marshall County.

Mr. Stephen H. Havley, 52 years of age, February the 28th, 2022, McDowell County.

If there are other coal miners in attendance that would like to join behind these people who are carrying the crosses, please feel free to do so.

You are the salt of the earth.

-Thank you.

Okay.

I got it.

-Okay.

Great.

Now, I only have $2 left.

-Any family members that want to come up and have a picture taken with Mr. King Coal... -Oh, no.

-Hey.

You got this.

-I don't think I got it.

That's sad.

[ Jar dinging ] Okay.

-[ Gasps ] Two fish.

-Thank you.

-You're welcome.

-Okay, so, I think it's probably dead.

-Yeah.

I kind of feel bad for those small little fish in there.

-There's a whole bucket full of them.

[ Both laugh ] Should we go ride a ride?

-Yeah, let's do... -Whoo!

-Whoa, horse!

[ Laughing ] This is fun.

[ Laughter, cheers ] -His hands are dirty.

His face is, too.

His back is bent over to see it through.

Hours go by with no time to spare.

Daddy in the coal miner with safety and care.

As his shift comes to an end, he looks at the work he has done, and closes his eyes and says, "Thank you, Lord for a safe day.

Now, let's catch our ride to the top where our home will be our next stop, and that's my daddy, and I'm a coal miner's daughter.

[ Electronic music plays ] ♪♪♪ -I did some research and found out that they used canaries in the coal mines until 1986, and I knew background with coding, and "Flappy Bird" was a popular game, so I put two and two together, and we got "Canary Chaos."

-Insurrection?

-Insurrection in the United States since the Civil War.

-Miners in Southern West Virginia working in dangerous working conditions underground fought for their right to form a union.

-Battle of Blair Mountain, 1921.

[ Train horn blares ] [ Train cars rumbling ] -Ain't got no soul.

-Warrior met coal!

-Ain't got not soul!

-Warrior met coal!

-Ain't got no soul!

-Warrior met coal!

-Ain't got no soul!

-Warrior met coal!

-Ain't got no soul!

-Warrior met coal!

-Ain't got no soul!

-Some historians, when they record the history of coal mining back in the '20s, they say miners were safer on the front lines in World War I than they were in the coal mines of West Virginia.

They might have been working 16 hours a day, seven days a week, and not make any money and bring any money home.

This is not taught in our history books.

This is something that took place that led, quite frankly, to organizing not only West Virginia but across the country.

This was 1921.

By 1935, United Mine Workers Union was the largest union in the United States.

From there, we built the autoworkers -- we did -- steelworkers, rubber workers, textile workers, the CIO, and the middle class was born.

So, in some ways, this march led to the middle class.

And if people enjoy vacations, time off, healthcare, pensions, and health and safety laws, black lung benefits, it all started right here.

[ Indistinct conversations ] We're going to be marching in the footsteps of 10,000 coal miners.

And this is historic because it was the largest armed insurrection in the history of the United States other than the Civil War.

They knew they were going to be facing machine guns.

On Blair Mountain, when they got there, an all-out war started.

But the union didn't die, and 14 years later, the CIO was born, steelworkers, rubber workers, textile workers, communication workers, all owe something to the people who marched here.

So, today, we are going to re-create that.

How you doing, sir?

-Granddaddy Buck started working in the mines when he was like 13 years old.

Pawpaw worked in the mines for like 30-some years.

-Really?

-Mm-hmm.

And Granddaddy Buck got hurt in the mines.

A piece of slate fell from the roof, which is a large piece of coal, flat coal.

It fell from the roof and landed on his back.

And he wasn't able to go back working in the mines after he rehabbed.

-Really?

-Mm-hmm.

So, you know, he, uh -- Was he -- did he just retire from the mines?

-He just left the mines.

I mean, he couldn't retire because he didn't have enough years.

Didn't have enough months.

Let's put it that way.

'Cause he was like six months from having 20 years, and at 20 years, you could retire.

-Oh.

-And so he just just left the mines, and there was, you know, no other options for him, as far as getting a retirement.

There was no one out there to help him fight for it.

It's sad to say the union didn't fight for black miners like they did white miners.

So that was the difference.

This area were mostly blacks, and, uh, we all knew each other.

I remember going blackberry picking.

Grandma Mildred used to make some of the best blackberry cobblers in the world.

The Harrises had grape vines in their yards.

And we used to pick grapes, and Granny Rose used to make some of the best grape jelly.

Right now, it's just wilderness.

-I guess you can't take my memories from me.

The good memories.

-And I'm riding along with people, I say, "Look yonder.

Yonder's the most beautiful scene that I ever saw.

I see the Technicolor of the mountains.

We wonder how long it'll last.

We wonder how long we can hold our peace.

We wonder how long we can sit and look and watch the greediness of people.

For the almighty dollar, come in and destroy all things that was created for man.

They are taking out the things that God provided and put forth for us.

They've taken it out, and they're leaving us nothing.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ -For over half a century, Central Appalachian coal has supported American industry.

1966 alone, almost $900 million worth of coal was extracted.

But the wealth underground is rarely reflected above ground.

-Around this time, the King starts mining the tops of mountains.

Machines replace men.

-There's no job back home.

Yeah, you can get a job as a truck driver but what it pay?

$20 a week.

You think I could get my family on $20 a week?

-You see, in the economy of the United States of America, we stand number 12th in wealth -- the state of West Virginia does.

But all of our natural resources and our great minerals is owned by people that lives in other states.

-From 1950 to 1970, 700,000 people leave the West Virginia hills.

But some stay and weather the booms and busts.

-When a group of people, a number of people, sticks together, you can't do nothing with them.

-Recently, some of the people here got together and agreed that they wanted to raise some money to help in the community.

This looks like a small beginning or a small thing, but for the mountains, it's awfully important.

Because the people decided that no big shot or no federal government is really going to help them.

If anything's done, they'll have to do it themselves.

-In order for us to stay and for my dad to keep his job, we moved around the coal fields seven times in 12 years.

It's what the King demanded.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ -This is another medicinal plant.

-Can I have it?

-Yeah.

Do you know what this one's called?

Do you remember?

-No.

-This one's called heal all.

If you're not feeling good, you got a tummy ache, you can make tea and drink it.

If you've got a wound, you can chew it up, spit it out on your wound, and it'll help keep it clean and keep the germs from causing an infection.

It's kind of good for everything.

-And they're delicious to eat.

-They're one of the last flowers before winter.

Here, sheep, sheep, sheep!

Here, sheep, sheep, sheep, sheep, sheep, sheep!

Bubba, sit.

Here, sheep, sheep, sheep, sheep, sheep, sheep!

Sheep, sheep, sheep, sheep!

-Sit, Bubba.

-Here, sheep, sheep, sheep, sheep, sheep, sheep!

♪♪♪ Here, sheep, sheep, sheep, sheep!

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ -Remember, it gets caught in the banks a lot, too, so... Look for it in the banks.

Nice part is, it's a different color than everything else, huh?

And it's free.

It just comes right out of the mountains for us.

There's a little piece right there.

-Is this coal?

-Let's see here.

Yes.

Thank you very much.

-You're welcome.

-Yeah, that's it.

All right.

Ahh.

Man, river running down the mountains just sets your energy right.

-They call it the resource curse, you know.

The value of this place measured only by the ton.

Sometimes I wonder if we'll ever break this curse.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ These days, we no longer all believe in the King's powers.

So we look for other ways we can be proud.

♪♪♪ Pawpaw once told me about a place forged in the mountains.

Where all stories are kept safe.

Until the day when they can be heard again.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ There have always been those of us who travel in and out of the kingdom.

Looking for stories that keep us alive.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Long ago, this region was defined by our geography -- these mountains.

Then by our geology -- coal.

♪♪♪ We were formed by these things.

And now... [ Indistinct singing in distance ] ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ -♪ And old King Cole, he called for his bowl ♪ ♪ He called for his drummers three ♪ -The King could never hold all our dreams.

♪♪♪ What dreams will the coal River dream?

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ -Mmm.

This smells sweet.

[ Indistinct conversations ] ♪♪♪ -Here, you guys.

Come on.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ -Who are we without a king?

-Shuffle one, shuffle two, shuffle three, shuffle four.

And one, and two, and three, and four.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ -The King's ghost will haunt our dreams unless we say goodbye.

♪♪♪ We look to the old-timers to guide the way.

♪♪♪ The burial rituals.

♪♪♪ [ Clock ticking ] Stop the clocks.

[ Ticking continues ] [ Ticking stops ] Turn the mirrors.

Open the windows.

Toll the bells.

[ Bell tolling in distance ] [ Thunder rumbles ] [ Thunder rumbles ] [ Wind howling ] [ Thunder crashes ] Build the casket.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ [ Motor whirring, saw buzzing ] ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ [ Lid slams, thunder rumbles ] The King brought us together.

And together, we say goodbye.

[ Drum beating rhythmically ] ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ -Coal, for those of us who came up with it, is intrinsic.

It's one of those things that, once it's in your bloodstream, subconsciously permeates and informs the rest of your life.

It becomes the reference point.

You know how brilliantly blue your daddy's eyes are because you've seen them matted and framed by shutters of coal dust.

For all the language and stories around it, coal itself resists both titles of villain and savior.

It is not dirty or clean.

It is elemental and thereby innocent of malice or greed and reflects only the nature by which it has been engaged.

I came up knowing I was born in an extraction state.

First, it was the coal, the gas, the trees, and now they've come to mine the memories, the moments, mine the magic.

Something to keep the fires burning.

I think about the paradox of pride and remorse, how my daddy was proud to do what needed to be done to work the mines and provide for our family.

I learned that you can be proud of your life and want better for them that come after you.

I am still learning.

[ Drum beating ] ♪♪♪ -♪ Won't you lay King Coal down in the cold, cold ground ♪ -♪ Neath the linden tree ♪ -♪ Shake the coal-dust cloud off my funeral shroud ♪ ♪ Beneath the linden tree ♪ -♪ From my black-baked lungs may my spirit be sung ♪ -♪ Beneath the linden tree ♪ -♪ King Coal had my body, but heaven has my soul ♪ -♪ Beneath the linden tree ♪ -♪ King Coal don't own any piece of my bones ♪ -♪ Beneath the linden tree ♪ -♪ Like a good old song, his ghost is never gone ♪ -♪ Beneath the linden tree ♪ ♪ Beneath the linden tree ♪ ♪ Beneath the linden tree ♪ [ Thunder rumbles ] [ Low, eerie music plays ] ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ -If you're hearing this, seeing this, know this place knows how to dream.

[ Insects chirping ] -And they were following us all the way back to the house.

-Well, that's good news for me because I want to go record them.

I think I have food.

-They follow you on the way back?

-Yes.

[ Insects chirping ] ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪