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THE AVONDALE MINE DISASTER Good Christians all, both great and small, I pray you lend an ear, And listen with attention While the truth I will declare; When you hear this lamentation, 'Twill cause you to weep and wail, About the suffocation In the mines of Avondale. On the sixth day of September, Eighteen sixty-nine, Those miners all then got a call To go work in the mine; But little did they think that [day] That death would soon prevail Before they would return again from The mines of Avondale. The women and their children, Their hearts were filled with joy To see their men go to their work Likewise every boy; But a dismal sight in broad daylight, Soon made them turn pale, When thev saw the breaker burning O'er the mines of Avondale. From here and there and everywhere They gathered in a crowd, Some tearing off their clothes and hair, And crying pout aloud; "Get out our husbands and our sons Death he's going to steal Their lives away without delat In the mines of Avondale" But all in vain, there was no hope One single soul to save, For there is no second outlet From the subterranean cave. No pen can write the awful fright And horror that prevailed, Among those dying victims, In the mines of Avondale. A consultation then was held. 'Twas asked who'd volunteer For to go down this dismal shaft To seek their comrades dear; Two Welshmen brave, without dismay, And courage withouc fail, Went down the shaft, without delay, In the mines of Avondale. When at the bottom they arrived, And thought to make their way, One of them died for want of air, While the other, in great dismay, He gave a sign to hoist him up, To tell the dreadful tale, That all were lost forever In the mines of Avondale. Every effort then took place To send down some fresh air; The men that next went down again They took of them good care; And traversed through the chambers, And this time did not fail In finding those dead bodies In the mines of Avondale. Sixty-seven was the number That in a heap were found. It seemed that they were bewailing Their fate underneath the ground; They found the father with his son Clasped in his arms so pale. It was a heart-rending scene In the mines of Avondale. Now to conclude, and make an end, Their number I'll pen down- A hundred and ten of brave strong men Were smothered underground ; They're in their graves till the last day, Their widows may bewail, And the orphans' cries they rend the skies All around through Avondale! From Pennsylvania Songs and Legends, Korson Collected from John J. Quinn, PA 1946 DT #713 Laws G6 @mining @disaster @death filename[ AVONDAL1 TUNE FILE: AVONDAL1 CLICK TO PLAY RG oct96 |
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