It IS a song written by Rita MacNeil, Big Pond, Cape Breton. She's currently ill.

I don't know which SOLO mail performer sang it after she first sang it, but the Men of the Deeps, a male chorus with one common point among all members - Former or presently Coal Miners. If I recall correctly, they were the first performers after Rita MacNeil.

BTW, Rita wrote the song in remembrance of her father who had been one of the coal miners of Cape Breton.

I'm uncertain of when it was written, (some songs are written WAY before they are recorded), but I would venture to guess that the song was written in the early sixties to early seventies. The song really got launched in the early 80s. Rita MacNeil really became an international star after 1986.

Will check on the dates later.