"Working in the Coal Mine" is a song with music and lyrics by the American musician and

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

Allen Toussaint Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musician, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, descri ...

. It was an international hit for

Lee Dorsey Irving Lee Dorsey (December 24, 1924 – December 1, 1986) was an American pop and R&B singer during the 1960s. His biggest hits were "Ya Ya" (1961) and " Working in the Coal Mine" (1966). Much of his work was produced by Allen Toussaint, with ...

in 1966, and has been recorded by other musicians including

Devo Devo (, originally ) is an American rock band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs (Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a ...

in 1981.

Lee Dorsey original version

After Toussaint returned to New Orleans from the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

, in which he served from 1963 to 1965, he formed a production company, Sansu (also known as "Tou-Sea Productions"), with partner

Marshall Sehorn Marshall Estus Sehorn (June 25, 1934 – December 5, 2006) was an American A&R man, songwriter, music publisher and entrepreneur who played an important role in the development of R&B and popular music in New Orleans between the 1950s and 1970 ...

. He produced a number of singles performed by

in 1965 and 1966, including "Ride Your Pony" and "Working in the Coal Mine". Written, arranged and produced by Toussaint, the song concerns the suffering of a man who rises before 5 o'clock each morning in order to work in a

coal mine Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

, five days a week, where the conditions are very harsh and dangerous, but which offers the only prospect of paid employment. The singer repeatedly asks the Lord, "How long can this go on?" and complains that when the weekend arrives, he's too exhausted to have any fun. In the instrumental section, as in the song's fade, he says: "Lord, I'm so tired / How long can this go on?" The song features the sound of a

pickaxe A pickaxe, pick-axe, or pick is a generally T-shaped hand tool used for Leverage (mechanics), prying. Its head is typically metal, attached perpendicularly to a longer handle, traditionally made of wood, occasionally metal, and increasingly ...

clinking, as if the musicians were working in a mine. Says producer Allen Toussaint "There wasn’t as much percussion as you might think on there. It was a certain drummer and we had my brother hit the mic' stand with a drum stick for the pick sound. Those were the two percussion instruments." The recording took place at

Cosimo Matassa Cosimo Vincent Matassa (April 13, 1926 – September 11, 2014) was an American recording engineer and studio owner, responsible for many R&B and early rock and roll recordings. Life and career Matassa was born in New Orleans in 1926.Komorowsk ...

's Governor Nichols Street studio in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Musicians included guitarist

Roy Montrell Roy Montrell (27 February 1928 – 16 May 1979) was an American rhythm & blues guitarist who performed on hundreds of records produced in New Orleans. Born Raymond Eustis Montrell, in New Orleans, Louisiana,Bob L. Eagle, Eric S. LeBlanc, ''Blues: ...

, drummer

Albert "June" Gardner Albert "June" Gardner (December 31, 1930 – November 19, 2010) was an American R&B and jazz drummer and bandleader from New Orleans whose professional music career spanned six decades. Early life Albert Samuel Gardner, Jr. was born in New Orle ...

, and bassist

Walter Payton Walter Jerry Payton (July 25, 1953Although most sources at the time of his death gave Payton's birth year as 1954, reliable sources subsequently state he was born in 1953. – November 1, 1999) was an American football running back who played ...

. It was a hit for Lee Dorsey, released on

Amy Records DJ copy of Kinetic Energy 1969 Amy 45 Amy Records was a record label formed in 1960 as a subsidiary of Bell Records. Artists who had success on Amy included Al Brown's Tunetoppers with "The Madison" (Amy 804 charted #23), a dance tune in 1960, Jo ...

(catalogue number 958), and entered the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on July 23, 1966, eventually peaking at #8, while reaching #5 on the

Billboard R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

. It also reached #8 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. Toussaint said that neither he nor Dorsey had ever been down a coal mine: "We didn’t know anything about a coal mine". He said of Dorsey:

"He was very good to work with. Very inspiring because he had such a happiness about him. He loved what he was doing when he was singing. He was a body and fender man when he wasn’t singing and even at his peak, when he would come off the road at the end of a successful tour, he would go and get into his grease clothes, his dirty work gear and go and work on cars. Straightening out fenders and painting bodywork. But really it was his finest hour when he was singing. He was a very good person for me to work with and he totally trusted me every step of the way."

Over time, Dorsey's version of "Working in the Coal Mine" has been featured in many movies and television programs, including ''

Where the Action Is ''Where the Action Is'' is a music-based television variety show that aired in the United States from 1965 to 1967. It was carried by the ABC network and aired each weekday afternoon. Created by Dick Clark as a spin-off of ''American Bandstand' ...

'' (1966), ''

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'' (1988), ''

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'' (1988), ''

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'' (1990), '' Married... with Children'' (1990), ''

The Wonder Years ''The Wonder Years'' is an American coming-of-age story, coming-of-age situation comedy, comedy/Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Neal Marlens and Carol L. Black, Carol Black. It ran on American Broadcasting Company ...

'' (1990), ''

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'' (1993), ''

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'' (1995), ''

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'' (2010), ''

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'' (2014), ''

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'' (2019) and ''

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'' (2019).

Chart history

Devo version

In 1981, a

cover version was included as a bonus 7" single packaged with their album ''

New Traditionalists ''New Traditionalists'' is the fourth studio album by the American new wave band Devo, released on August 26, 1981, by Warner Bros. Records. The album was recorded over a period of four months between December 1980 and April 1981, at the Power ...

''. This version was later included in the soundtracks for the films '' Heavy Metal'' and '' Employee of the Month''. It entered Billboard Sept 5, 1981, reaching No. 43 on the Hot 100, and was also a Top 10 single in New Zealand. It was used as the theme for the show ''

Working Working may refer to: * Work (human activity), intentional activity people perform to support themselves, others, or the community Arts and media * Working (musical), ''Working'' (musical), a 1978 musical * Working (TV series), ''Working'' (TV s ...

''.

Chart performance

Other versions

*The song was covered by

The Judds The Judds were an American country music duo composed of lead vocalist Wynonna Judd and her mother, Naomi Judd. The duo signed to RCA Nashville in 1983 and released six studio albums between then and 1991. The Judds were one of the most success ...

in 1985, on their album ''

Rockin' with the Rhythm ''Rockin' with the Rhythm'' is the second studio album by American country music duo The Judds, released on October 30, 1985, by RCA Nashville. It features the singles "Have Mercy," "Grandpa (Tell Me 'Bout the Good Old Days)," "Rockin' with the R ...

''. Over time, it became a fan favorite of the country duo. *The song is also included as a part of a medley performed by

of some of his hits in the 2005 documentary film '' Make It Funky!'', which presents a history of

New Orleans music The music of New Orleans assumes various styles of music which have often borrowed from earlier traditions. New Orleans, Louisiana, is especially known for its strong association with jazz music, universally considered to be the birthplace of th ...

and its influence on

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

References

{{Authority control 1966 songs 1966 singles 1981 singles Lee Dorsey songs Devo songs Songs written by Allen Toussaint Warner Records singles Asylum Records singles Songs about labor Works about mining