30. You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive. Patty Loveless

I first heard Patti Loveless sing this at a Down from the Mountain concert in Toronto in 2002. This song has a lot of things going for it: the story, with its plot twists; the instruments, especially the fiddle and mandolin, and the great harmonies (in the chorus, you get the harmony line above the melody). I like the way the chorus starts out on kind of a hopeful note (at least it sounds like a hopeful key), but turns dark.