You gotta love a good coal mining tune.
For many of the artists coming out of Appalachia, coal mining is part of their identity. While they may not have worked the mines themselves, most probably have family members who did, or if nothing else, have just grown up in areas where coal mining is prevalent.
And as a result, there are some great songs about coal mining, like Tyler Childers’ “Coal,” Logan Halstead’s “Dark Black Coal,” Cole Chaney’s “Mercy,” Charles Wesley Godwin’s “Coal Country,” and many more.
Now, Eastern Kentucky duo Sundy Best has come out with the latest coal song. Their newest single “Above Ground” hit streaming platforms on July 27th, and takes on a bit of a different approach to the topic.
The tune follows a coal miner who spends all of his time working in the mines before finally heeding his friends’ advice to spend some time above ground and enjoy himself. Long story short, the guy is glad he did.
“Spend too much time down in this hole
Looking for diamonds and black gold
Took their advice, and I looked around
Funny what you find when you’re above ground…”
Check out “Above Ground” here:
And if you’re wondering what the deal is with the baby in the song, Sundy Best explained on their Instagram.
“Fun fact: Nicholas’ baby girl Maven was in the studio with us and was feeling mighty vocal that day so we put a microphone next to her. As we started to record the guitar/cajon she was right in tune with us.
When you hear her chime in it’s exactly how it happened!”
Sundy Best has long been a powerhouse in the Appalachia music scene, and fans everywhere are glad to have them releasing new music again after Nicholas Jamerson and Kristofer Bentley briefly parted ways.
While “Above Ground” is the most recent, and probably my favorite of the songs, Sundy Best has also released two other singles this year and they’re well worth the listen.
“Right on Time”
“Walk by Faith” ft. Mac Powell
