"Certains disent que l'homme est fait de boue,
Un pauvre homme fait de muscles et de sang
Des muscles et du sang, de la peau et des os,
Un esprit faible et un dos fort
On charge 16 tonnes,
Et qu'est-ce qu’on obtient ? ..."

"Sixteen Tons" is a song about the life of a coal miner, first recorded in 1946 by American country singer Merle Travis and released on his box set album Folk Songs of the Hills the following year. A 1955 version recorded by Tennessee Ernie Ford reached number one in the Billboard charts, while another version by Frankie Laine was released only in the United Kingdom, where it gave Ford's version competition.
The Platters recorded an early cover in 1957.

Some people say a man is made outta mud
A poor man´s made outta muscle and blood
Muscle and blood and skin and bones
A mind that´s a-weak and a back that´s strong
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
I was born one mornin´ when the sun didn´t shine
I picked up my shovel and I walked to the mine
I loaded sixteen tons of number nine coal
And the straw boss said ´Well, a-bless my soul´
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
I was born one mornin´, it was drizzlin´ rain
Fightin´ and trouble are my middle name
I was raised in the canebrake* by an ol´ mama lion
Cain´t no-a high-toned woman make me walk the line
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
If you see me comin´, better step aside
A lotta men didn´t, a lotta men died
One fist of iron, the other of steel
If the right one don´t a-get you, then the left one will
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
Paroliers : Merle Travis