Shut up in the mine of Coal Creek,
We know that we must die;
But if we trust in Jesus
To heaven our souls shall fly.
Our lamps are burning dimly,
Our food is almost gone;
Death's grasp is sure but awful,
Soon we'll be carried home.
Goodbye, dear wives and children,
May you be treated kind,
For now our time has come to die,
Shut up in the Coal Creek mine.
Eleven of us were prisoned,
And two dear ones have died;
Nine more are left to suffer,
And die in the Coal Creek mine.
Farewell, dear wives and mothers,
You're left behind to mourn,
But if you follow Jesus,
We'll meet in heavenly home.
Dear friends, you should take warning,
And listen to what we say;
You're now in the world of sunlight,
So there you'd better stay.
Shut up in the mine of Coal Creek,
We know that we must die;
But if we trust in Jesus
To heaven our souls shall fly.
Goodbye, dear wives and children,
May you be treated kind,
For now our time has come to die,
Shut up in the Coal Creek mine.
We know that we must die;
But if we trust in Jesus
To heaven our souls shall fly.
Our lamps are burning dimly,
Our food is almost gone;
Death's grasp is sure but awful,
Soon we'll be carried home.
Goodbye, dear wives and children,
May you be treated kind,
For now our time has come to die,
Shut up in the Coal Creek mine.
Eleven of us were prisoned,
And two dear ones have died;
Nine more are left to suffer,
And die in the Coal Creek mine.
Farewell, dear wives and mothers,
You're left behind to mourn,
But if you follow Jesus,
We'll meet in heavenly home.
Dear friends, you should take warning,
And listen to what we say;
You're now in the world of sunlight,
So there you'd better stay.
Shut up in the mine of Coal Creek,
We know that we must die;
But if we trust in Jesus
To heaven our souls shall fly.
Goodbye, dear wives and children,
May you be treated kind,
For now our time has come to die,
Shut up in the Coal Creek mine.
inviata da Bernart Bartleby - 13/4/2015 - 16:43
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Parole e musica di autore anonimo, presumibilmente un minatore di Coal Creek (l’antico nome di Lake City, oggi nuovamente cambiato in Rocky Top), Tennessee.
Incisa per la prima volta nel 1929 ad opera di un cantante e violinista del Kentucky, tal Green Bailey.
Testo trovato in quest’articolo di Lyle Lofgren originariamente pubblicato su “Inside Bluegrass”, marzo 2006.
Trovo il brano interpretato dai The New Lost City Ramblers nel disco “Modern Times” edito dalla Folkways Records nel 1968.
Poi anche, nell’interpretazione originaria di Green Bailey, nella raccolta intitolata “Poor Man, Rich Man - American Country Songs Of Protest” della Rounder Records, 1989.
Qualche anno dopo i Coal Creek Troubles del 1890-91, nella miniera di carbone di Fraterville, sempre nella Coal Creek Valley, si verificò un gravissimo incidente. Era il 19 maggio del 1902 e una galleria adiacente i pozzi attivi, abbandonata e priva di aerazione, si saturò di gas metano. Ne derivò una terribile esplosione che uccise ed intrappolò più 216 minatori. Morirono tutti, non ci furono sopravvissuti, e per giunta fu possibile recuperare soltanto i corpi di 89 di loro. In tutto il campo restarono solo tre maschi adulti, quelli che quel maledetto giorno non erano andati a lavorare… Improvvisamente un intero villaggio fu popolato solo di vedove ed orfani… In memoria delle vittime fu eretto il mausoleo detto Fraterville Miners' Circle.