From the recording Let Us Sing
Words and Music by Andy Daigle (c) 2020
Lyrics
St. Paul Mine
In nineteen hundred nine when I was just a boy
My father died at the St. Paul mine in Cherry, Illinois
Myself and many others would escape the flames that day
Many more had a different fate
The owners knew the power was out. Use torches for light they said
When the hay caught fire well down below the owners showed no regret
It was profits before people. Coal grew their money roll
With their greed they lost their soul
Where I live there’s a big hole in the ground
Where I live no little kids run around
They work in the mine every day
Where I live that’s all there is to say
They closed off both the shafts so the flames would get no higher
They left the men and the boys to perish in the fire
Five hundred went down the shaft, fewer than half came home
They left widows and orphans alone
Where I live there’s a big hole in the ground
Where I live no little kids run around
They work in the mine every day
Where I live that’s all there is to say
Some say it was the owners, some say it was the mine
That sealed the miner’s fates. Was it greed or a bad design
By Grace I got out, I dodged the reaper’s scythe
I’ll tell the tale my whole life
Where I live there’s a big hole in the ground
Where I live no little kids run around
They work in the mine every day
Where I live that’s all there is to say
Where I live there’s a big hole in the ground
Where I live no little kids run around
They work in the mine every day
Where I live that’s all there is to say
Where I live that’s all there is to say