OK, so it's obvious that the song is about coal mining, and I figured a dragline was some sort of machine used in coal mining, and I was satisfied with that for twenty years. But I came across the song in Rise Up Singing again tonight, and wondered what a dragline might be. I found out that a dragline is a large excavator with a bucket pulled in by a wire cable. Then I found a video about a dragline named "Big Muskie" a distinctively Wisconsin kind of name. Turns out that "Big Muskie" was used in Ohio coal mining, but built by Bucyrus Erie, a South Milwaukee firm I used to drive by twice a week. I knew they made huge cranes, but I didn't know about the mining equipment.
I have mixed feelings about this. I've seen the damages done by strip mining, but I'm fascinated by the huge equipment that was used in the process. I can't go past a mine without stopping to explore. And Bucyrus-Erie was a fascinating place to see, and it gave good jobs to many people in the area I still call home.
Follow the links and take time to watch the video and absorb the information. The song means a lot more to me, now that I've taken the time to study it.

-Joe-