The Miner's Song

Billy's first breath was the last for his mother
He was born on the shores of a town called Glace Bay
And all that he had was himself and his father
They lived in a house 'bout a mile down the way.
His dad was a big man and worked as a miner
Billy grew more to be like him each day
'Cause every boy's dream was to work with his father
In the mine that ran under the bay.

Chorus:
"My son," he said, "Don't be a miner
Cause it's hard work and too little pay
You dig in that hole for the company's coal
Y'wind up just digging your grave."

Billy grew older but never grew wiser
Fighting and drinking his young life away
He reached for the top but wound up on the bottom
Of the mine that ran under the bay.

Chorus

They say that it happened one morning in April
A cave-in that's number eleven that day
Billy got there as his dad reached the surface
And his dying words he did say:

Chorus

I don't know who wrote this song. I have heard it performed by John Allan Cameron, and recorded by McGinty (Halifax pub band).