Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: GUEST Date: 19 Jul 13 - 06:07 AM Does somebody when the song Coorie Doon was recorded by McGinn for the first time? |
Subject: Lyr Add: WHEN THE MINERS FOUGHT FOR SPAIN From: GUEST,Lavengro Date: 22 Apr 13 - 06:20 AM Hi Guest, Not sure if you will be interested in this. It is not in the usual hardship and disaster theme of many mining songs, but it is still a mining song. In 1936 Oswald Mosley's blackshirts arrived uninvited in Tonypandy and started setting up hustings to promote their politics. The miners and women of Tonypandy ensured that they didn't get to speak a word. Only the locals were arrested by the police, and a half dozen or so got gaoled. It was the final straw for some in terms of signing up to the International Brigade, indeed one of those arrested, Harry Dodson, is said to have been so incensed that when he left gaol his first question was "Which way is Spain". Anyways this is my take on it: WHEN THE MINERS FOUGHT FOR SPAIN Em C G D No Paseran the cry went up from Rhondda through to Spain Em C D Em And the men who said they shall not pass won't pass this way again G C D G They poured out from the mine and marched to Tonypandy square Word had reached the pithead Moseley's blackshirts gathered there Lies are better silenced if they're stopped before they start The men of Pandy town engraved this maxim on their hearts CHORUS- Break G C Em D Em The Peelers came in four abreast, there to end the affray Shook hands with the fascist thugs and sent them on their way Thirty six arrests were made but no blackshirts God forbid When Harry Dobsen left his cell he asked "Which way to Madrid"? Five hundred men from British soil died in a foreign land On beaches filled with tourists now they drew their line in the sand Let us not forget these men their rifles at their sides Who stood in mountain trenches, and turned the fascist tide CHORUS |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: Tradsinger Date: 21 Apr 13 - 01:04 PM In Gloucestershire, we have the song "The Jovial Foresters" all about coal-mining in the Forest of Dean. |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: Stringsinger Date: 21 Apr 13 - 11:08 AM Archie Green has written a must read on miner's songs and folklore. "Only a Miner", a great folklore dissertation and entertaining read. |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: GUEST,olddude Date: 21 Apr 13 - 10:26 AM here is one I wrote Owens Appalachia |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: Dennis the Elder Date: 21 Apr 13 - 09:54 AM The Pitwork site is certainly worth a visit or two, thanks Keith and Ray. I did not realise "she" was that old Ray!! Dennis |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: selby Date: 21 Apr 13 - 07:35 AM I believe the song I used to sing about Lofthoyse Colliery Disaster was written by Sam/Stan Richards from Totnes Devon and written in 1973. Keith |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: r.padgett Date: 20 Apr 13 - 03:42 AM Pit work is I believe a website created by my old school mate Daz Beattie who lives in Grimethorpe a community totally decimated by MT in 1885 Ray |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: selby Date: 20 Apr 13 - 03:13 AM On the search for the song I sang came across this interesting web page. http://www.dmm-pitwork.org.uk/html/menu6.htm Keith |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: Sandy Mc Lean Date: 19 Apr 13 - 05:46 PM RIP Rita MacNeil Your "Working Man" was one of the greatest coal mining songs! |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: selby Date: 19 Apr 13 - 03:26 PM Dennis I dont think its the song I sang, I believe the song I sang was written by a miner shortly after the disaster. Memory overheating to try and remember. Keith |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: Dennis the Elder Date: 19 Apr 13 - 01:56 PM Have a look on youtube Keith. Three Sheets T'Wind Lofthouse Colliery Disaster. Sounds good, thanks for pointing it out. Did you manage to find the words Ray? Dennis |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: selby Date: 19 Apr 13 - 01:34 PM How about Lofthouse Colliery Disaster I sung it in the past but cannot remember the words, Keith |
Subject: Lyr Add: WORKING MAN (Rita MacNeil) From: GUEST,Mark Date: 19 Apr 13 - 12:14 PM Definitely the late Rita MacNeil's "Working Man". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-EiwiiAh68 Chorus It's a working man l am And I've been down under ground And I swear to God if ever see the sun Or for any length of time I can hold it in my mind I never again will go down under ground At the age of sixteen years Oh he quarrels with his peers Who vowed they'd never see another one In the dark recess of the mines Where you age before your time And the coal dust lies heavy on your lungs Chorus At the age of sixty-four Oh he'll greet you at the door And he'll gently lead you by the arm Through the dark recess of the mines Oh he'll take you back in time And he'll tell you of the hardships that were had Chorus (Repeat Chorus) (Repeat Chorus) God I never again will go down under ground |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: BrendanB Date: 07 Apr 13 - 02:51 PM Have you come across 'Schooldays over' by Ewan McColl. Also 'The Collier Lad' by Johnny Handle. My choir have linked them together in a trilogy which starts with 'Coal Hole Cavalry'. Just a thought. |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: GUEST,Brian Gill Date: 07 Apr 13 - 02:30 PM Shouldn't the title be "Rap Her Tae Bank, Me Canny Lads"? |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: Tattie Bogle Date: 06 Apr 13 - 06:12 PM In March 2012 we staged a couple of concerts of Mining Songs in Edinburgh and Glasgow: on the whole these featured songs from the the Scottish coalfields and NE of England but with a couple from further afield. Artists included Gifford Lind, Scott Murray, Mick West, Jim Bainbridge and 4-piece band Ragged Glory from Newtongrange, one of the Midlothian mining areas. Here's the list of songs sung, some of which have already been mentioned above: Schooldays Over I Wish I was a Miner Aff Tae the Pit in the Mornin The Miner's Rescue The Multicoloured PIt Pony Doon in the Darkly Pit Hard Days But Happy Days Miners' Medley The Pound a Week Rise The Night-Visiting Song The Durham Miner's Gala Me Hair Has Turned Grey Ower the Walls Oot The Durham Miners' Strike The Big Hewer The Old Miner The Coaltown Road The Midlothian Miners' Song The Recruited Collier Collier Laddie Prince of Darkness Coorie Doon Six Jolly Miners The Blantyre Explosion Dark as a Dungeon Farewell to the Gold (N Zealand) Harold's Best Men/Farewell Johnny Miner Roll On the Day Miner's Lifeguard 19 Streets The Miners' Raws The Bowhill Colliery Pug Poem - I am the Common Man 1 Remembrance Day Song The Miner's Lass Fordell Ball Me Hair Has Turned Grey Rap at a Bank/Jowl Jowl and Listen The Durham Lockout The Durham Emigrant The Night-Visiting Song Winter Sun |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: GUEST,ifor Date: 06 Apr 13 - 03:50 PM Chris Hastings and Huw Pudner have written a song called 'Black Diamonds and Iron' about the enormous changes in the South Wales valley chorus 'The valley's been looted They stripped it all bare From the Tawe and Taff To the banks of the Dare Black diamonds and iron In millions of tonnes Came from the valley Where the river still runs' |
Subject: Lyr Add: THE DAY WE STOPPED THE TRAIN (Mick Tems) From: GUEST,Guest: Bill Jones Date: 06 Apr 13 - 10:54 AM In 1985, just after the year-long Miners' Strike and the subsequent closure of Penrhiwceibr Colliery in the Cynon Valley, the Welsh daily The Western Mail reported that coal trains were being halted and being "robbed" of their black gold, not just in the Cynon Valley but everywhere in the South Wales coalfield. To commemorate this mementous occasion, Mick Tems of Calennig wrote this rumbustious song, which goes to the tune of St David's Day: THE DAY WE STOPPED THE TRAIN 1. Our fathers built this Valley on the wealth from underground, We fought to win the riches, we stood upright, straight and sound; Now they've thrown us on the heap, boys, like the spoil we're cast away, But we struck a blow for Cynon just before St David's Day. Chorus: For our hearts were full of sorrow, full of hardship, full of pain; But we struck a blow for Cynon on the day we stopped the train. 2. We fought to win the strike, Boys, drove the traitors from our midst, It took a year to beat us, then we topped the closure list; Have you tried to raise a family on the pittance from the dole Or faced a bitter winter to poor to pay for coal? Chorus 3. There's no need to tell the details of the raid upon the train, No need to say who planned it - they could do the same again; But we blocked the line with sleepers, stopped the engine in its tracks, Poured tons and tons of big, black gold and we went and filled the sacks. Chorus 4. Like the bad old nineteen-thirties families scrabble in the heaps, And your wife counts out the coppers from her empty purse then weeps, But the poor and the sick and aged no longer freeze like ice, For we've got our coal at a quarter of Margaret Thatcher's price. Chorus 5. Now they tell it through Cwm Cynon, Mountain Ash and Aberdare, The day McGregor paid his dues - were you there, boys, were you there? And the fire will still be blazing, blazing late into the night, For the memories of Saint David's Eve will keep our hopes alight. Chorus |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: Dennis the Elder Date: 06 Apr 13 - 04:35 AM "Morley Main" by Keith Marsden on Cockersdales albums "Picking Sooty Blackberies" (also on "Doin' the Manch") is certainly my favourite mining disaster song. Keith certainly was good with words and in many of his songs there was a very poignant message. |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: dick greenhaus Date: 05 Apr 13 - 08:04 PM Rhe Coal in the Stone is a wonderful one As is Fountain Filled With Blood |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: GUEST,Will Date: 05 Apr 13 - 07:32 PM Southern Sun bluegrass band from Corbin Ky sing one called the Battle of Blair Mountain |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: gnu Date: 05 Jan 13 - 07:34 PM BTW... thank you for intrducing Lynn's music to me Little Hawk. And, congrats to you for owning that guitar she is playing in that video. You must be a fair (hehehehe... yeah, I know) musician in yer own right for her to gift you with it. |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: gnu Date: 05 Jan 13 - 07:27 PM Lynn Miles... Black Flowers |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: bradfordian Date: 05 Jan 13 - 07:10 PM Pony Driving Song by Yorkshire's Bill Price. Also performed by his daughters Ruth and Sadie. Bill Price website (updated) |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: Bobert Date: 05 Jan 13 - 04:06 PM Anyone mention Marty Stuart's "Coal Mine Blues"??? I saw another post with a song with the same name but not sure if they are the same... Also, seems to me that Journey did a nice song about an accident in a coal mine??? I know I have it somewhere but not sure where... B~ |
Subject: Lyr/Chords Add: BLACK FLOWERS (Lynn Miles) From: Janie Date: 05 Jan 13 - 01:34 PM I've gone through the several coal mining song threads and also searched under the song title and the author, and as best I can tell, no one has mentioned "Black Flowers" by Lynn Miles. (I just heard it for the 1st time this morning.) BLACK FLOWERS Capo IV E7: 022130 Intro: (Am)(G)(Am) I live beside this (G)dark coal mine The (Am)whistle blows every (E)day on time(E7) When the (Am)rain pours down and the (G)wind blows hard Black (Am)flowers (G)grow in my (Am)yard (G)(Am) And when I (Am)lost my man down that (G)old coal shaft I (Am)swear I heard the (E)devil laugh(E7) The (Am)angels laughed and they (G)took my heart Now black (Am)flowers (G)grow in my (Am)yard And the (Fmaj7)undertaker is a (C)busy man He got a (Am)clean blue shirt, got (E)soft pink hands(E7) Got a (Am)big driveway and a (G)brand new car Black (Am)flowers (G)grow in my (Am)yard And when the (Fmaj7)baby cries, I sing (C)hush little one But I (Am)swear that I'm gonna (E)come undone(E7) Cause when the (Am)rain pours down and the (G)wind blows hard Black (Am)flowers (G)grow in my (Am)yard Black flowers (G)grow in my (Am)yard Black flowers (G)grow in my (Am)yard (G)(Am)(G)(Am) Lynn Miles performing "Black Flowers" It spoke to me because it reminds of my grandmother who was still in bed with a new baby when my grandfather was killed down a coal shaft. |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: GUEST,Ron B Date: 22 Dec 11 - 07:05 PM The "Donegal Weavers" recently released a mining CD called "Last Day of the Northern Field." It includes a selection of 21 songs and tunes from the NE Pennsylvania anthracite coal fields. |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: JohnB Date: 29 Mar 11 - 12:40 AM Lots of good un's here. http://www.bobfoxmusic.com/ HOW ARE YOU OFF FOR COALS? FECD111 Bob Fox and Benny Graham (2001) Sorry could not be bothered with two blue clickies for the same site. John. |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: Max Johnson Date: 28 Mar 11 - 09:02 AM My favourites: 'Rap Her To Bank'. 'Blackleg Miner'. 'Paradise'. |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: GUEST,NormanD Date: 28 Mar 11 - 03:26 AM Don't forget "New York Mining Disaster 1941" by The Bee Gees. If you don't think this is valid, ask Martin Carthy why he recorded a version. There are other mining songs from non-western countries - an excellent South African one by Hugh Masakela about gold mine workers, for example. |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: Shrubby Date: 27 Mar 11 - 10:28 PM Doeas anyone have the words to "Miner's Lament" by the New Lost City Ramblers? |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: GUEST,Willa Date: 21 Jan 11 - 04:56 PM The Collier Lass and The Testimony of Patience Kershaw are both in the DT and the latter is on the Yorkshire Garland website that Ray mentioned. http://www.yorkshirefolksong.net/ |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: Bobert Date: 21 Jan 11 - 04:52 PM No "coal mine song" thread would be complete without John Prine's "Paradise" ...Mr. Peabody's coal train has hauled it away... B~ |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: gnu Date: 21 Jan 11 - 04:43 PM Here's another one. |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: GUEST,darlingflute Date: 21 Jan 11 - 03:45 PM I am looking for the lyrics to "That 25 Cents You Paid" by Sarah Gunning, "Which Side Are You On?" by Florence Reece, and "Coal Mining Women" by Hazel Dickens -- and I need them as they are on the CD "Coal Mining Women." I've found a number of versions on the web but can't find any that are exactly like the recording and there are parts I can't quite catch when transcribing the words. Anyone have any help? Thanks! |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: deepdoc1 Date: 26 Apr 10 - 07:22 PM Jean Ritchie's Black Waters is worth a look. |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: RobbieWilson Date: 26 Apr 10 - 07:06 PM Matt McGinn, of the Calton wrote a "miners lullaby", Townes van Zandt's Tecumsah Valley is about the daughter of a miner, Dick Gaughan's "Why old men cry" has a verse about the Lothian pits worked by his father. |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: lisa null Date: 26 Apr 10 - 05:38 PM I sing "i work in the Mines"-- from the anthracite region around Scranton. It's on my Folk-Legacy cd, "American Primitive." It comes from the singing of "Giant" O'Neill. It expresses some of the pride miners have about their work as well as the difficulty. |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: GUEST,MadauntieCat Date: 26 Apr 10 - 04:35 PM I don't suppose a silly song about dwarves mining gold (to the tune of 'Delilah') is quite the thing? |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: SINSULL Date: 26 Apr 10 - 04:16 PM Miner's Lullaby - Utah Phillips song about miners carrying morphine in case of an underground disaster. |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: Chris in Portland Date: 26 Apr 10 - 10:36 AM My friend David Llewellyn won the Lennon Prize for his great mining song, Take Me Down - he's touring in Wales right now. Frank Hennessy has played this on Celtic Heartbeat a number of times. See http://www.davidllewellyn.com/lyrics.html Chris in Portland |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: GUEST,Bardford Date: 26 Apr 10 - 09:46 AM Coal Dust Grins Canadian coal mining songs. |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: GUEST,Mad Jock Date: 26 Apr 10 - 06:50 AM What about the classic " Coal not Dole" by Kate Sutcliffe. Heard a fantastic version of it by singer Angie Wright. |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: GUEST,clarke Date: 25 Apr 10 - 07:19 PM Anyone have the lyrics and chords to Coal Mine Saturday Night? |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: quokka Date: 03 Mar 10 - 10:18 AM Thanks, Tony (guest 2581) - it(Follow Me Down Cousin Jack) IS good isn't it! I may think of an Aussie one...later. Got a lot on just now. |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: Dennis the Elder Date: 03 Mar 10 - 06:25 AM Just listened to Radio 2's "Ballad of the miners strike" which featured a song with a chorus starting "it'll all be over in a fortnight" doas any one know the words please. Ray if you pick up this thread, i'm sure you will. |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: GUEST,bankley Date: 25 Jan 10 - 09:18 AM "Ghosts of Appalachia" by JT Oglesby.... soon to be released 'You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive" Daryl Scott... a winner |
Subject: RE: Coal Mining Songs From: GUEST,2581 Date: 24 Jan 10 - 04:32 PM Thanks, quokka ! I had never heard of "Cousin Jack". What a great song!! Best wishes, Tony |
Subject: Lyr Add: GRANDDAD AND THE PIT (Martin Nesbitt) From: Rank Date: 19 Jan 10 - 02:22 PM Old King Coal by John Kirkpatrick Coorie Doon by Matt Mcginn Song of the Pit by Jack Coterell and recorded by Muckram Wakes on Warbles Banbles and Reeds. Written to raise funds during the miners' strike. Grandad and the Pit by Martin Nesbitt of Saltburn. May not be to everybody's taste, but I like it. GRANDDAD AND THE PIT Martin Nesbitt Granddad, won't you tell us, Now that you're old and grey, Tell us where you used to work, Back in the olden days? And granddad, I've often wondered, Though I've never asked before, Why do you lay in bed all day, And you don't work no more? Lass, I were a miner, And I worked in a place called a pit. A pit is a dark and dirty hole, And I worked in the bottom of it, digging out coal. They burn coal on fires, bonny lass, To keep folks warm from the cold, And I toiled down that pit all my working days, Till I lost my job, when I got too old. Granddad, won't you tell us, Now that you're old and grey, Tell us why you cough so much, All the night and day? And granddad, I've often wondered, Why do you wear that mask, What could have made your lungs so ill? Was it coal dust from the past? Lass, I were a miner, And I worked in a place called a pit. A pit is a dark and dirty hole, And I worked in the bottom of it, digging out coal. They burn coal on fires, bonny lass, To keep folks warm from the cold, And I toiled down that pit all my working days, Till I lost my job, when I got too old. Granddad, won't you tell us, Now that you're old and grey, Why did the doctor say to mam, You'll not see another day? And granddad, I'm getting worried, You're looking awful pale, What could have made you so ill? Oh, you look so weak and frail. Lass, I were a miner, And I worked in a place called a pit. A pit is a dark and dirty hole, And I worked in the bottom of it, digging out coal. They burn coal on fires, bonny lass, To keep folks warm from the cold, And I toiled down that pit all my working days, Till I lost my job, when I got too …….. Granddad. Granddad. Granddad. |
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