Ballad of Springhill
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[Verse 1] In the town of Springhill, 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 In roads that never saw sun nor sky [Verse 2] In the town of Springhill you don't sleep easy Often the earth will tremble and roll When the earth is restless miners die Bone and blood is the price of coal Bone and blood is the price of coal [Verse 3] In the town of Springhill, Nova Scotia Late in the year of '58 Day still comes, and the sun still shines But it's dark as the grave in the Cumberland mine It's dark as the grave in the Cumberland mine [Verse 4] Down at the coalface, miners working Rattle of the belt, and the cutter's blade Rumble of rock and the walls close 'round The living and the dead men two miles down The living and the dead men two miles down [Verse 5] Twelve men lay two miles from the pit shaft Twelve men lay in the dark and sang Long, hot days in a miner's tomb It was three feet high and a hundred long Three feet high and a hundred long [Instrumental Break] [Verse 6] 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 We'll live on songs and hope instead" [Verse 7] Listen for the shouts of the bareface miners Listen through the rubble for a rescue team Six hundred feet of coal and slag Hope imprisoned in a three-foot seam Hope imprisoned in a three-foot seam [Verse 8] Eight days passed and some were rescued Leaving the dead to die alone Through all their lives they dug a grave Two miles of earth for a marking stone Two miles of earth for a marking stone
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Credits
- Writers
- Peggy Seeger
- Ewan MacColl