Verse 1:
Back in nineteen-hundred-three
I worked down in the mines.
I dug that coal and brought it up.
At least a million times.
Our hats were lit with little fires
That gave us light to see.
But when it lit the methane gas
A big blast took my knee.

Verse 2:
They made a little wooden box
To hold my poor old leg.
Then they whittled a piece of wood
And I limped on that old peg.
A hobblin' on my wooden stump,
I worked for two more years.
I dug the coal and sent it up,
But coal dust raised my fears.

Chorus:
Peg-Legged Willie,
They called me for a while.
But how did I become a ghost? Could someone make me smile?
From miner to a ghost I went
My fate was sealed in stone.
I'd wander 'til I made my peace.
And I could head on home.

Chorus:
Peg-Legged Willie,
They called me for a while.
But how did I become a ghost? Could someone make me smile?
From miner to a ghost I went
My fate was sealed in stone.
I'd wander 'til I made my peace.
And I could head on home.