U2 sang about it on their Joshua Tree tour.
The coal mines in Springhill , Nova Scotia
were the site of three mining disasters.
In 1891, a fire killed 125 miners and injured many more.
The scale of this disaster was unprecedented
in Canadian history.
In 1956, an explosion killed 39 men
more than a mile underground.
more than a mile underground.
88 miners were rescued by the heroic work
of draegermen and barefaced miners.
In 1958, a bump (collapsing mineshaft) killed 74 men.
100 miners were rescued,
some of them as late as eight days after the bump.
This last disaster received worldwide attention
in those early days of television newscasts,
and resulted in the mine being permanently closed.
Watch old CBC news clips here.
At least two books were written about the 1958 disaster.
The ballad was written by Peggy Seeger and Ewan MacColl,
who sang it as an a cappella duet. (see the lyrics below)
Peter, Paul and Mary later sang the song.
And the Dubliners after them.
“The Ballad of Springhill”
(Peggy Seeger & Ewan MacColl)
In the town of Springhill , Nova Scotia
Down in the dark of theCumberland
There's blood on the coal and the miners lie
In the roads that never saw sun nor sky. (x2)
In the town ofSpringhill
Often the earth will tremble and roar
When the earth is restless, miners die
Bone and blood is the price of coal. (x2)
In the town of Springhill, Nova Scotia
Late in the year of fifty-eight
Day still comes and the sun still shines
(But it's) Dark as the grave in the Cumberland mine. (x2)
Down at the coal face, miners working
Rattle of the belt and the cutter's blade
Rumble of the rock and the walls closed round
(The) Living and the dead men two miles down. (x2)
Twelve men lay two miles from the pitshaft
Twelve men lay in the dark and sang
Long hot days in the miners tomb
(It was) Three feet high and a hundred long. (x2)
Three days past and the lamps gave out
And Caleb Rushton got up and and said
There’s no more water, or light, or bread
(So we'll) Live on song and hope instead. (x2)
Listen for the shouts of the barefaced miners
Listen thru the rubble for a rescue team
Six hundred feet of coal and slag
Hope imprisoned in a three foot seam. (x2)
Eight days passes and some were rescued
Leaving the dead to lie alone
Thru all their lives they dug their grave
Two miles of earth for a marking stone. (x2)
Down in the dark of the
There's blood on the coal and the miners lie
In the roads that never saw sun nor sky. (x2)
In the town of
Often the earth will tremble and roar
When the earth is restless, miners die
Bone and blood is the price of coal. (x2)
In the town of Springhill, Nova Scotia
Late in the year of fifty-eight
Day still comes and the sun still shines
(But it's) Dark as the grave in the Cumberland mine. (x2)
Down at the coal face, miners working
Rattle of the belt and the cutter's blade
Rumble of the rock and the walls closed round
(The) Living and the dead men two miles down. (x2)
Twelve men lay two miles from the pitshaft
Twelve men lay in the dark and sang
Long hot days in the miners tomb
(It was) Three feet high and a hundred long. (x2)
Three days past and the lamps gave out
And Caleb Rushton got up and and said
There’s no more water, or light, or bread
(So we'll) Live on song and hope instead. (x2)
Listen for the shouts of the barefaced miners
Listen thru the rubble for a rescue team
Six hundred feet of coal and slag
Hope imprisoned in a three foot seam. (x2)
Eight days passes and some were rescued
Leaving the dead to lie alone
Thru all their lives they dug their grave
Two miles of earth for a marking stone. (x2)
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