Sixteen Tons and what do you get?

Did you realize that the lyrics for Tennessee Ernie Ford song entitiled Sixteen Tons....can be connected to the novel October Sky?
Mrs. McWilliams classes are reading the novel set
in West Virginia in the time of Sputnik. An unlikely boy turns his
interests to rocketry instead of coal mines. Playing the song in class brought so many connections from book to song. Things such as themes, character traits, time in history and setting of story could all be connected! Freshman English students enjoyed the "old time" music. They were surprised to learn what being in debt to the town store was! We used to have charge accounts at Ike's food market in Inman!!