The Ukelites
Well-known member
Wikipedia says about this song: "Sixteen Tons" is a song about the life of a coal miner, first recorded in 1946 by American country singer Merle Travis. "I owe my soul to the company store", is a reference to the truck system and to debt bondage. Under this scrip system, workers were not paid cash; rather they were paid with non-transferable credit vouchers which could be exchanged only for goods sold at the company store. This made it impossible for workers to store up cash savings. Workers also usually lived in company-owned dormitories or houses, the rent for which was automatically deducted from their pay.
We say: It's fun to play!
We say: It's fun to play!