"You load sixteen tons, what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me, 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store."
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me, 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store."
— "Sixteen Tons"
Ernest Jennings Ford (February 13, 1919 – October 17, 1991), known professionally as Tennessee Ernie Ford, was an American singer and television host who performed in the Country, Pop, and Gospel music genres. Noted for his rich bass-baritone voice, he is remembered for his hit version of "Sixteen Tons". He also became a household name in the U.S. largely as a result of his portrayal in 1954 of "Cousin Ernie" on three episodes of I Love Lucy.
Contains examples of:
- Born During a Storm: "Sixteen Tons" gives two different accounts of the protagonist's birth, both downplayed. In the second verse, "born one morning when the sun didn't shine" and in the third: "born one morning, it was drizzling rain".
- Cover Version: Among his biggest songs, notably including "Sixteen Tons", are covers.
- Job Song: "Sixteen Tons" is one of the bleakest job songs in existence, as it's a man's lament that regardless of how hard he works, he'll never escape the Company Town.
- Working Class Anthem: "Sixteen Tons" is about a man toiling in a company town owned by a coal company, where he has no choice but to buy everything he needs from his employer.
