Ewan MacColl
Spring Hill Mine Disaster
[Verse 1]
In the town of Spring Hill, Nova Scotia
Down in the dark of the Cumberland Mine
There's blood on the coal and the miners lie
In the roads that never saw sun nor sky
Roads that never saw sun nor sky
[Verse 2]
In the town of Spring Hill, you don't sleep easy
Often the earth will tremble and roar
When the earth is restless, miners die
Blood and bone is the price of coal
Blood and bone is the price of coal
[Verse 3]
Down at the coal face, miners working
Rattle of the belt and thе cutter's blade
Rumble of rock and thе walls closed 'round
The living and the dead men two miles down
Living and the dead men two miles down
[Verse 4]
Twelve men lay two miles from the pit shaft
Twelve men lay in the dark and sang
Long hot days in the miner's tomb
It was three foot high and a hundred long
Three foot high and a hundred long
[Verse 5]
Three days passed and the lamps gave out
And Caleb Rushton, he up and said
There’s no more water, nor light, nor bread
So we'll live on songs and hope instead
Live on songs and hope instead
[Verse 6]
Eight days passed and some were rescued
Leaving the dead to lie alone
Through all their lives they had dug a grave
Two miles of earth for a marking stone
Two miles of earth for a marking stone