"Sixteen Tons was written eight years before I recorded it"

Tennessee Ernie Ford's quote is referring to his 1955 hit song "Sixteen Tons". The tune was written by Merle Travis in 1947, 8 years before Ford taped it. The tune has to do with the battles of coal miners in the United States and the challenges they faced. Ford's variation of the tune was a major hit, reaching primary on the Billboard charts and selling over four million copies. The tune has because become a traditional and is still extensively known today. Ford's quote is a testimony to the timelessness of the song and the struggles of the coal miners that it talks to. It is a suggestion of the value of acknowledging the hard work and devotion of those who operate in hard and unsafe conditions. Ford's quote is a tip of the power of music to accentuate essential problems and to bring people together.