The 23rd of October we'll remember that day
Down the shaft underground in our usual way
In the Cumberland Pit how the rafters crashed down
And the black hell closed round us way down in the ground
Now when the news reached our good neighbors nearby
The rescue work started their hopes were still high
But the last bit of hope like our lamps soon burned dim
In the three foot high dungeon we joined in a hymn
In that dark, black, hole in the ground
Only God will ever know all that happened down there
How we watched Percy Rector die gasping a prayer
And young Clarke had his birthday he thought in his grave
After days of cruel torture we'd no hopes to be saved
We sang all together though racked through with pain
When they broke through we knew that our prayers weren't in vain
I crawled through the tunnel they helped me along
I said give me some water and I'll sing you a song
Of that dark, black, hole in the ground
I'll sing you a song of the bravest of men
Of those who remained to go digging again
To bring the coal up from ten thousand feet deep
And the others who stayed there forever to sleep
Oh be thankful you fellows brought back from the dead
And pray for your friends who have gone on ahead
And you boys up in heaven as you look on down
Don't forget to remember Springhill mining town
And that dark, black, hole in the ground
Down the shaft underground in our usual way
In the Cumberland Pit how the rafters crashed down
And the black hell closed round us way down in the ground
Now when the news reached our good neighbors nearby
The rescue work started their hopes were still high
But the last bit of hope like our lamps soon burned dim
In the three foot high dungeon we joined in a hymn
In that dark, black, hole in the ground
Only God will ever know all that happened down there
How we watched Percy Rector die gasping a prayer
And young Clarke had his birthday he thought in his grave
After days of cruel torture we'd no hopes to be saved
We sang all together though racked through with pain
When they broke through we knew that our prayers weren't in vain
I crawled through the tunnel they helped me along
I said give me some water and I'll sing you a song
Of that dark, black, hole in the ground
I'll sing you a song of the bravest of men
Of those who remained to go digging again
To bring the coal up from ten thousand feet deep
And the others who stayed there forever to sleep
Oh be thankful you fellows brought back from the dead
And pray for your friends who have gone on ahead
And you boys up in heaven as you look on down
Don't forget to remember Springhill mining town
And that dark, black, hole in the ground
inviata da Bernart Bartleby - 20/4/2017 - 11:25
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Parole e musica di Maurice Ruddick (1912-1988), minatore
Interpretata da Bill Clifton and the Dixie Mountain Boys
Poi anche dalla folk singer Val MacDonald, figlia di Maurice Ruddick
Testo trovato su Mudcat Café
Maurice Ruddick era un minatore di Springhill, Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, Canada.
L'estrazione del carbone a Springhill era iniziata nella seconda metà dell'800, e già nel 1891 si era verificato il primo disastro, quando 125 minatori erano rimasti uccisi in seguito ad una serie di deflagrazioni dovute al grisù. Molti di loro erano ragazzini di 10-12 anni... Nel 1956 un'altra esplosione uccise 39 lavoratori... Nel 1958 invece si verificò un devastante “terremoto” localizzato, dovuto all'estrazione prolungata e massiva che aveva pesantemente intaccato le linee di faglia. Il “bump” investì anche la cittadina, danneggiandola gravemente, e intrappolò nelle viscere della terra molti minatori al lavoro. 75 di loro trovarono la morte mentre 100 vennero recuperati nel corso di un'operazione di salvataggio epica durata molti giorni.
Maurice Ruddick rimase intrappolato con altri per 9 giorni in fondo ad una galleria e, a detta dei suoi compagni di disavventura, fu solo per la sua forza d'animo che qule gruppetto sopravvisse. Maurice Ruddick riuscì a tenere alto il morale di tutti cantando e dividendo con gli altri una torta che la moglie gli aveva dato prima di scendere in galleria, visto che quel giorno era il suo compleanno. Maurice Ruddick venne poi celebrato in tutto il Canada come “cittadino dell'anno”.
Sull'episodio si veda anche The Ballad of the Springhill Mine Disaster di Peggy Seeger