One of Hazel Dickens' strengths as a songwriter lies in depicting the
hardscrabble life of coal-mining folk in her native West Virginia. Many of her
songs aren't necessarily "pretty," but they are powerful and evocative, and
they ignite just the right kind of sympathy. This is a true gem from her album
"Hard Hitting Songs For Hard Hit People," and is a favorite of late-night
song-swappers at Augusta.

LOST PATTERNS by Hazel Dickens

         A                                D                      E
A
The worn out linoleum has lost its pattern on the kitchen floor
                                                                           D
E                              A
And the woman that used to scrub it's turned around and walked right out the
door
        E                                          D
A
The oil cloth from the table she wiped so many times it's almost gone
                                                            E
A
And the elbows leaning on it held the head of a man that drank alone.

Every now and then his empty can would shatter the silence of the room
As it landed on her pretty face still smilin' from the broken picture frame.
Well lately since she left him he just sits at the kitchen table drinkin' beer
Starin' at that cold linoleum tryin' to trace the lost patterns 'round his
tears.

              E                                 D
D
And it's hard luck, hard times, and too many rainy days
E
Hard workin' people who just get by from pay to pay.
           A                                        D
E                          A
Yes it takes it's toll upon us, we sometimes drive away the ones who care
                                                               E
A
>From all the wearin' and the tearin' the carin' just walks right out the door.

[Repeat last verse.]