"
When I was a curly headed baby
My daddy sat me down on his knee
He said, "son, go to school and get your letters,
Don't you be a dusty coal miner, boy, like me
Two characters are introduced in the first stanza, the speaker, who is the son of the second character, who is the father. The first two lines show that the speaker is looking at a memory about his father. He explains that his father didn't want him to be a coal miner, and to go to school and become successful instead. I believe that this stanza is a set up for the rest of the song, preparing the listener, or reader for a ballad.