A Miner's Prayer

[mopaul]

Miner's Prayer

I keep listening for the whistle in the morning
But the mines are still; no noise is in the air.
And our children wake up hungry in the morning
For the cupboards are so empty and so bear.

And their little feet, they are so cold, they stumble
And we have to pin their rags upon their backs.
And our homes are broken down and very humble,
And the winter wind comes pourin' through the cracks.

CHORUS:
Oh, it's hard to hear the hungry children crying
When I have to hands that want to do their share.
Oh, you rich men in the city, won't you have a little pity
And just listen to miner's prayer?

Just beneath the frozen ground the coal is laying,
Only waiting `till we seek it from its bed.
And above the ground, each miner stands there praying
While each miner's wife bows down her weary head.

Oh, we only ask enough to clothe and feed them
And to hear the hungry children laugh and play.
Oh, if we could give these things to those who need them,
I know that would be a miner's happy day.

[ScreamingMeemie]

1. My thoughts are on these people and their families.

I'm hoping for a miracle.

[mopaul]

2. my grandpa was a miner in w. virginia

he first went in to work at age 14, and for 7 years he never saw the sun. my mom still has his carbide light helmet.

[we can do it]

3. My Prayers To Them Too.

My mom's family is from West Virginia - thankfully they didn't have to work in the mines. They are the kindest people I know.

[ohio_liberal]

4. One of my uncles is still a miner in WV

For all of the unions and MSHA the mines are still unsafe. Companies and their management are always trying to figure out how to cut corners at the expense of their workers.

[theHandpuppet]

5. My Great Grandmother was a cook for a KY coal mining camp

My Grandfather recollected a childhood of isolation and poverty; he and his siblings were raised on biscuits and gravy that were made from the leavings of grease and flour left over after the miners had eaten. Morning, noon and night, he said, biscuits and gravy. He could never eat it again after that. I wish I had written down many of his memories, this from a man who courted my grandmother by riding a mule over the mountains and dodging moonshiners and revenuers alike.

[bleedingheart]

6. Once I heard the disaster siren go off in the distance when I was a kid

my aunt's husband worked in the mines and we were at her house visiting during the summer...

Everyone...absolutely everyone when silent....and the look on my aunt's face was of terror.

That siren meant that there was a big problem and men who weren't at work, went directly back to help.

that was an eerie feeling

[lectrobyte]

7. Shaky Ground by Uncle Tupelo

in memory of a miner
who dragged himself to work
and worked himself to death
working for someone else
we follow each other around on shaky ground

his life had become to him
worthless in many ways
an expired product off the shelf
working for someone else
we follow each other around on shaky ground

the nature of his work
gave him a minstrel color
twenty hours a day
little time he had for others
we follow each other around on shaky ground

never got to see the world
he got a funeral and this miner's song
there is no right or wrong

now it's down to the wire
facing six feet under
can only wonder and stare
his name was a number