Ernie Ford Rendition of Merle Travis's "16 Tons" ID: 921 | This file appears in: Conditions at the CFI Mines of the Colorado Coalfields To listen to this audio please consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 audio Although this song was written 40 year later about a Kentucky mine, Tennessee Ernie Ford’s rendition of Merle Travis’ “16 Tons” speaks to the bleak economic and physical condition of miners in not just southern Colorado but throughout the United States. | Source: National Recording Preservation Board, from the Library of Congress. “Recording Registry,” available at https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/recording-registry/registry-by-induction-years/2014/. Download Original File SourceNational Recording Preservation Board, from the Library of Congress. “Recording Registry,” available at https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/recording-registry/registry-by-induction-years/2014/. "Ernie Ford Rendition of Merle Travis's "16 Tons"" appears in: Conditions at the CFI Mines of the Colorado Coalfields