Best song ever in a miner theme?

[CanuckAmok]

[mark414]

1. what about 16 tons?

I was born one mornin' when the sun didn't shine
I picked up my shovel and I walked to the mine
I loaded sixteen tons of number 9 coal
And the store boss said "Well, a-bless my soul"

You load sixteen tons, what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter, don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

44. and THAT is the best song ever in a miner theme!

:thumbsup:

[Jack Rabbit]

46. Another vote for 16 Tons

I have both the Tennessee Ernie Ford the Merle Travis versions in my CD collection.

[Mixxster]

47. "16 Tons" was the first song I thought of.

It definitely should be on that list.

[HEyHEY]

2. Does "Coal Miner's daughter" count?

[Zuni]

3. I do know the best song with a steel driving theme

John Henry

[Beware the Beast Man]

4. Other- "Canary in a Coal Mine"

By the Police.

[Zuni]

9. good call

up tempo ska is good for mining songs

[kodi]

5. big john

.

[ironflange]

37. Big Bad John

[jobycom]

50. At the bottom of this pit lies a big, big man---one of the best story song

ever.

That and Tallahasse Bridge.

[enigmatic]

6. "Tecumseh Valley"- Townes Van Zandt and...

"Coalminers" by Uncle Tupelo; both classic songs..

[parasim]

7. Workin' in a Coal Mine

...Goin’ down down Workin’ in a coal mine Whew
about to slip down...

(particularly Devo's version)

[HEyHEY]

8. After seeing the other suggestions - your list sucks big eggs

[CanuckAmok]

13. mom joke. n/t

[Aristus]

10. At the bottom of this mine lies a big, BIG man...

Big John!

[Robeson]

11. Johnny Cash - "Dark As The Dungeon".

[lenidog]

12. Blue Sky Mine by Midnight Oil

Its about asbestos mining.

Hey, hey-hey hey
There'll be food on the table tonight
Hey, hey, hey hey
There'll be pay in your pocket tonight

My gut is wrenched out it is crunched up and broken
A life that is led is no more than a token
Who'll strike the flint upon the stone and tell me why
If I yell out at night there's a reply of bruised silence
The screen is no comfort I can't speak my sentence
They blew the lights at heaven's gate and I don't know why

But if I work all day at the blue sky mine
(There'll be food on the table tonight)
Still I walk up and down on the blue sky mine
(There'll be pay in your pocket tonight)

The candy store paupers lie to the share holders
They're crossing their fingers they pay the truth makers
The balance sheet is breaking up the sky
So I'm caught at the junction still waiting for medicine
The sweat of my brow keeps on feeding the engine
Hope the crumbs in my pocket can keep me for another night
And if the blue sky mining company won't come to my rescue
If the sugar refining company won't save me
Who's gonna save me?

But if I work all day...

And some have sailed from a distant shore
And the company takes what the company wants
And nothing's as precious, as a hole in the ground

Who's gonna save me?
I pray that sense and reason brings us in
Who's gonna save me?
We've got nothing to fear

In the end the rain comes down
Washes clean, the streets of a blue sky town

[thatgemguy]

14. Timothy - The Buoys

Without a doubt, one of the best songs about miners and cannibalism ever. Written by Rupert Holmes, who also gave us the Pina Colada Song.

[Tom Kitten]

21. 2 for Timothy

It was slight but it was shocking (for some)at the time...

Trapped in a mine that had caved in
And everyone knows the only ones left
Were Joe and me and Tim
When they broke through to pull us free
The only ones left to tell the tale
Were Joe and me

Timothy, Timothy, where on earth did you go?
Timothy, Timothy, God why don't I know?

Hungry as hell no food to eat
And Joe said that he would sell his soul
For just a piece of meat
Water enough to drink for two
And Joe said to me, "I'll have a swig
And then there's some for you."

Timothy, Timothy, Joe was looking at you
Timothy, Timothy, God what did we do?

I must have blacked out just around then
'Cause the very next thing that I could see
Was the light of the day again
My stomach was full as it could be
And nobody ever got around
To finding Timothy
Timothy...

[enigmatic]

35. Yes!!!

What a great song; I forgot about this one..

[auntAgonist]

15. Rita MacNeil -- Working Man

Working Man

Chorus
It’s a working man l am
And I’ve been down under ground
And I swear to God if l ever see the sun
Or for any length of time
I can hold it in my mind
I never again will go down under ground

At the age of sixteen years
Oh he quarrels with his peers
Who vowed they’d never see another one
In the dark recess of the mines
Where you age before your time
And the coal dust has heavy on your lungs

Chorus

At the age of sixty-four
Oh hell greet you at the door
And hell gently lead you by the arm
Through the dark recess of the mines
Oh hell take you back in time
And hell tell you of the hardships that were had

Chorus
(Repeat Chorus)
(Repeat Chorus)

God I never again will go down under ground

:: BACK TO TOP

.........................

[saltpoint]

16. 'Mother of a Miner's Child" by Gordon Lightfoot.

"She is my light
In this place where the darkness never ends
She guides me where the tunnels twist and bend
She's the only one who listens when I tell her
I have less than I can spend
She knows the pace
O mother of a miner's child
Wash away the coal dust from my face..."

[saltpoint]

17. Real good poll, CanuckAmok. Did you ever see Matewan -- the film

about coal mining?

A John Sayles film -- a terrific look at these folks' lives. It's on my top-ten best American films of all time.

[enigmatic]

20. Fabulous film..

Wil Oldham of Palace/Bonnie Prince Billy plays Danny Radnor in it. My favorite Sayles film..

[saltpoint]

22. Hi, enigmatic. Yep -- it is a fine thing Sayles did on that one.

His other stuff shines, too, but that one take top prize.

[jobycom]

23. Everybody should have a John Sayles film in their top ten

Mine is Lone Star. Best closing line of a movie ever.

[saltpoint]

25. Good choice. And Chris Cooper really runs away with that one.

He's under-rated as an actor, I think. He and Sayles make a perfect team.

[jobycom]

34. Did you see him in Silver City?

It wasn't Sayles's best work--seemed kind of rushed-- but Cooper was a dead ringer for W. His speech about the back burner had me falling off the couch.

[saltpoint]

36. I need to see that one, jobycom. I just never got off my can to go see it

and will rent it & have a look as soon as I can.

Next time we cross paths, it'll be under my belt. Promise.

I like Cooper a lot and Sayles is a 5-star director. Thanks for the motivation to see SILVER CITY.

[jobycom]

48. I've been a real John Sayles pimp lately!

Looks like I've inspired two more viewings today. My job is done.

[enigmatic]

29. I haven't seen that yet

I've gotta go get that this weekend..

[jobycom]

33. You'll love it. Matthew McCounneghy, Chris Cooper, Kris Kristoferson

Elizabeth Pena. Just a great script with fantastic acting, and an actual purpose. It's brilliant. I think it's the best film about Texas ever--nothing else captures the state, at least the southern half, like it.

[LSdemocrat]

18. Other: Bee Gees - New York Mining Disaster 1941

[jobycom]

24. I'm going back and forth between BeeGees and Big John. nt/

[leftofthedial]

19. 16 tons

no doubt about it

[Robeson]

26. Tennessee Ernie Ford.....

...Nice call...:thumbsup:

[leftofthedial]

27. merle travis

great songwriter

ernie made a timeless record

[Robeson]

28. Yep, made a career off of it.

[leftofthedial]

31. that's what a great song can do

it's still powerful. even though everyone has heard it a zillion times. a friend of mine plays it regularly in his set list. never fails to get through to the crowd.

[jobycom]

49. It's being used in a commercial now

I don't remember what it advertised, but it had a lot of women in provocative overalls working in a mine, while they played that song. Still sounds good.

[argyl]

30. "Harlan Man" - Steve Earle or "Paradise"- John Prine.

[two gun sid]

32. Coal Tattoo by Billy Edd Wheeler

Going down that coal town road
Listen to my rubber tire whine
Good-bye to buckeye and white sycamore
I'm leaving you behind
Oh, I've been a coal miner all of my life
Laying down tracks in the hole
Got a back like an ironwood bent by the wind
Blood veins as blue as the coal
Blood veins as blue as the coal


Somebody said that's a strange tattoo
There on the side of your head
I said that 's the mark of number nine coal
A little more and I'll be dead
Oh, I love the rumble and I love the dark I love the cool of the slate
but It's going down that new road looking for a job
This traveling and looking I hate
This traveling and looking I hate


I stood for the union
I walked on the line
I fought against the company
I stood for the UMW of A
Who've always stood by me
Well, I got no job and I got no pay just got a worried soul
And this blue tattoo by the side of my head
Left by the number nine coal
Left by the number nine coal


Someday when I die and go
To heaven the land of my dream
I won't have to worry about losing my job
To bad times and big machines
I ain't gonna pay my money away on dues and hospital plans
I'm gonna pick coal where the blue heavens roll
Sing with the angel bands
Sing with the angel bands.

[Hubert Flottz]

40. My favorite too!

Billy Ed Wheeler has written some good songs.

[Left Is Write]

38. BIG BAD JOHN!

:D

[Hubert Flottz]

39. Cowminder's daughters!

Written for the Bush Twins! Sang by Loretta Lynn Bubba!

[Richardo]

41. No "Hi Ho?"

The 7 dwarves were miners, you know.

[bertha katzenengel]

42. Semi-relevant tidbit: My beloved was a coal miner.

Yep. Mrs. V.

[DeaconBlues]

43. Hazel Dickens - Disaster at the Mannington Mine

The song will rip your heart out:

We read in the paper and the radio tells
Us to to raise our children to be miners as well.
Oh tell them how safe the mines are today
And to be like your daddy, bring home a big pay.
Now don't you believe them, my boy,
That story's a lie.
Remember the disaster at the Mannington mine
Where seventy-eight miners were buried alive,
Because of unsafe conditions your daddy died.
They lure us with money, it sure is a sight.
When you may never live to see the daylight
With your name among the big headlines
Like that awful disaster at the Mannington mine.
So don't you believe them, my boy,
That story's a lie.
Remember the disaster at the Mannington mine
Where seventy-eight miners were buried alive,
Because of unsafe conditions your daddy died.
There's a man in a big house way up on the hill
Far, far from the shacks where the poor miners live.
He's got plenty of money, Lord, everything's fine
And he has forgotten the Mannington mine.
Yes, he has forgotten the Mannington mine.
There is a grave way down in the Mannington mine
There is a grave way down in the Mannington mine.
Oh, what were their last thoughts, what were their cries
As the flames overtook them in the Mannington mine.

So don't you believe them, my boy,
That story's a lie.
Remember the disaster at the Mannington mine
Where seventy-eight good men so uselessly died
Oh, don't follow your daddy to the Mannington mine.
How can God forgive you, you do know what you've done.
You've killed my husband, now you want my son.

[Qanisqineq]

45. Big John or 16 Tons

This thread reminds me of all the songs my dad used to sing along to when I was a kid. Ah, memories of when he was young and healthy...

[Radical Activist]

51. Paradise by John Prine or The Dying Miner by Woody Guthrie

There are a lot of good ones but I love those two.

Lyrics to Paradise:

When I was a child, my family would travel,
To western Kentucky, where my parents were born.
And there's a backwards old town that's often remembered.
So many times that my memories are worn.

And Daddy won't you take me back to Muhlenberg county,
Down by the Green River, where Paradise lay.
"Well I'm sorry, my son, but you're too late in askin'."
"Mr. Peabody's coal train has hauled it away."

Well, sometimes we'd travel right down the Green River,
To the abandoned old prison down by Aidrie Hill.
Where the air smelled like snakes: we'd shoot with our pistols,
But empty pop bottles was all we would kill.

chorus

Instrumental break.

Then the coal company came, with the world's largest shovel,
And they tortured the timber and stripped all the land.
Well, they dug for their coal till the land was forsaken.
Then they wrote it all down as the progress of man.

chorus

When I die, let my ashes float down the Green River.
Let my soul roll on up to the Rochester dam.
I'll be halfway to Heaven with Paradise waitin',
Just five miles away from wherever I am.

And Daddy won't you take me back to Muhlenberg county,
Down by the Green River, where Paradise lay.
"Well I'm sorry, my son, but you're too late in askin'."
"Mr. Peabody's coal train has hauled it away."

[jobycom]

52. California Faith

It's a sequel to the ballad of California Joe.

California Faith

California Faith
(Debby McClatchy)

Come gather 'round and listen, I want you all to know
What became of Maggie and California Joe
They left old Mad Jack's cabin, packed all the cart could hold
And it's off to California and searching for the gold

They settled down in Marysville, the Sierra mother lode
A booming mine shack city built where the Feather River flowed
They built a home of logs and stones where the river starts to wind
And Joe worked running buckets in the Little York Hydraulic Mine

Just before the first snowfall Maggie bore a little girl
They named her Faith and Faith became the center of their world
Ten years passed and Faith grew strong in a piney mountain home
And everyone in Marysville felt Faith to be their own

Joe was second foreman, he still worked in the mines
And he often said to Maggie, I'm worried about springtime
Slickens are ever rising, the bottom's up five feet
If this year's snow is heavy, then we're in for a lot of grief

I've tested out that river every springtime we've been here
And just as I suspected it's risen every year
I've spoken to the manager, he won't give me a chance
All the owners are for profits and the owners live in France

That winter was both cold and long; the woods were choked with snow
And with the thaw, the Feather grew to a swollen raging flow
And as the swirling waters hit the mine above the town
Well, the slickens were so heavy, water had to move to higher ground

Forty-six million cubic yards of gravel, muck, and mud
Turned the peaceful Marysville to a fifteen-foot high flood
And high above the city Joe found his Maggie safe
But none of all the neighbors there had seen a sign of Faith

She'd gone down to the river to find flowers in the snow
And, Joe, I could not find her when the river overflowed
I searched, I cried, I called her name, but I heard no returned sound
Then the waters got so very high I had to move to higher ground

Oh, Maggie dear, don't fret, don't mourn; I'll find our little girl
I can't believe that God above could take so sweet a pearl
He has so many treasures, I know we'll find her safe
And the very next time you see me, I'll have our darling Faith

All the neighbors gathered there searched far into the night
And up and down the flooded town were boats with bobbing lights
As the first shell-pink and grey brought promise of the dawn
Weary searchers went on home to bed, but Faith had not been found

Two days passed and hope grew dim; there'd been no sign at all
And many friends gave up the search as the river began to fall
There'd been so many loved ones lost, the toll was mounting high
But why should Faith so young and strong have been chosen then to die

Joe searched and seethed and cursed the mines and mourned all he had lost
The price they'd paid was worthless now; they'd paid to
(The gold they'd got was worthless now; they'd paid too high a cost)
And when the night brought darkened hopes he knew the time had come
Well, he climbed the hill above the town and blew up the Little York Mine

All the neighbors came to watch, the sky was lit by fire
All the world grew warm and gold and the flames leapt even higher
And from the dark into the glare a small form crept alone
And someone shouted, Joe, come see, your Faith at last is home

Oh, daddy, I'd gone down to find some flowers in the snow
And then a mighty water-wall pushed me on down below
I caught and held a sturdy log and prayed I would not drown
Oh, we floated down for miles and miles 'fore I could reach some higher ground

At first I thought I can't go on, I cannot even try
Then someone whispered close at hand, I'll save you or I'll die
Since then I've walked through snow and mire; my strength was fading fast
That voice kept me from losing hope and now I'm home at last

Now hoses, pumps, and buckets are all gone from Marysville
They passed a law in ninety-three, the mine is ever still
The men went back to panning and digging for the gold
The family is together and my story has been told

http://sniff.numachi.com/~rickheit/dtrad/pages/tiCALFAITH.html

[Radical Activist]

53. Let's not forget Aunt Molly Jackson

She had some great Coal Miner songs.

http://www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/parton/2/jackson.html#top

[Tyler Durden]

54. The Springhill Mine Disaster

In the town of Springhill, Nova Scotia
Down in the dark of the Cumberland Mine
There's blood on the coal and and the miners lie
In the roads that never saw sun nor sky
Roads that never saw sun nor sky.

Pete Seeger.

[Radical Activist]

55. this deserves a late night kick

[Redstone]

56. It's TARRIERS, not "terriers."

For Christ's sake. Terriers are dogs. Not miners.

Redstone