Springhill Mining Disaster

[slaneman]

Springhill Mining Disaster
Written by Peggy Seeger/Ewan MacColl
Performed by U2 on The Later Show, Tribute to the Dubliners
Recorded at RTE Studios, Dublin, Ireland
March 16, 1987
DVD Version

Gay Byrne: Now, ah,  ladies and gentlemen, another of the groups, and we’re delighted to welcome them to our studio, who have come along especially to pay tribute to The Dubs, would you welcome please, U2.

Bono:  Hello. It’s a… very, very, very proud to be a part of this, and ah , I met Ronnie Drew along the way, along the road over the years. Really love the man.
Never, never met Luke Kelly, saw him crossing O’Connell street once… fiery red hair. Would’ve loved to have met him.
It’s a pleasure to be here. This is eh, this is a song that your lot have inspired me…with
It’s your version of, eh, Springhill Mining Disaster

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

In the town of Springhill you don't sleep easy
Often the earth will tremble and roll
When the earth is restless miners die
(But the) bone and blood is the price of coal
Bone and blood is the price of coal

In the town of Springhill, Nova Scotia
Late in the year of ‘88
Well the day still comes and the sun still shines
But it's dark as a grave in the Cumberland mine
It's dark at the grave in the Cumberland mine

Listen to the shouts of the black-faced miners
Listen to the call of a rescue team
We have no water or no brans
So we're living on songs and hope instead
We're living on songs and hope instead

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

In the town of Springhill, Nova Scotia
Often the earth will tremble and roll
When the earth is restless mine, miners die
Bone and blood is the price of coal
Bone and blood is the price of coal
Bone and blood is the price of coal

Thank you


GB: Well performed…well performed…well performed. Well done, good job, well done, thank you

Bono:  Thank you

GB: You’re very welcome. As they say, you’re very welcome to this house
well done, that was a nice performance
ah what, tell, talk to me about Luke. Did he have a, did he have a great influence on you?

Bono:  Yeah, I would say, you know, if ah, if we’ve got something of the soul of Ronnie Drew
and the rest of the guys, I’d like to think we’ve something of the spirit of, of Luke Kelly
just he, as a singer he inspired me to sing I mean I grew up in my house, they, you know,
Christmas time and other times on the weekend in fact any time drink was brought out you’d sing some of his songs,
and uh, I’m still singing them because I think they’re worth singing.
And ah, as I say I saw…I…I saw, I saw him across O’Connell Street once

GB:  You just saw him across O’Connell Street

Bono:  Yeah, and uh who’s that guy with the fiery red hair I said, cause everyone was looking at him I said, eh, that’s Luke Kelly, and eh, I ought to have known

GB:  You ought to have known, and you never got to shake his hand, then

Bono:  No, and it’s to my lasting regret and I, I think, eh, really that’s why we’re here tonight

GB:  Good, well that’s a nice tribute. Now when are you off on your next tour? Very soon, surely.

Edge:  That’s right. The 23rd of this month we head off for what will probably be about 12 months away

GB:  Where are you going?

Edge:  Well, it’s where we aren’t going that’s really the question. We’re starting um, in the States
we’re doing a couple months there then we’re coming back to Europe
and we’re doing pretty much everywhere on the continent, Britain and Ireland,
and then we, ah, we’ll probably take in Australia and New Zealand at the end of the year

GB:  Just while you’re passing by…just take a hop in there…
well now you’re most welcome here and thank you very much indeed for coming along and paying your tribute

Bono:  Thank you

GB:  I know that your tour would be attended with just as much success
and adulation as your previous tours, so good luck to you now

Bono:  Thank you very much

GB:  And may the Lord send you safe in return, all right thank you

Bono/Edge:  Thank you. Thanks a lot

GB:  All right, well done, thank you very much for coming.

GB:  Bono, The Edge, all the gang there, U2

[slaneman]

**And for the lyrics obsessive and since Brad likes this song **


Peggy Seeger on her song--

“I started writing songs when I was 21. Thank goodness my earliest attempts will never see the light of day! I am especially proud of “The Ballad of Springhill” (one verse of which was written by Ewan MacColl, for when I wrote it I had never been down a coal-mine. We both felt the song needed a verse that sounded as if I had). This song has actually entered the ‘folk tradition’ to such an extent that people either think that Ewan or ‘the folk’ wrote it. What a compliment!"

http://www.pegseeger.com/html/1_songwriter.html


Ballad of Spring Hill (Spring Hill Disaster)

In the town of Spring Hill, Nova Scotia,
Down in the heart of the Cumberland Mine,
There's blood on the coal and miners lie
In the roads that never saw sun or sky
Roads that never saw sun or sky.

Down at the coal face the miner's workin'
Rattle of the belt and the cutter's blade
Crumble of rock and the walls close round
Living and the dead men two miles down
Living and the dead men two miles down

Twelve men lay two miles from the pitshaft
Listen for the drillin' of a rescue team
Six hundred feet of coal and slag
Hope imprisoned in a three-foot seam
Hope imprisoned in a three-foot seam

Eight days passed and some were rescued
Leaving the dead to lie alone
All their lives they dug their graves
Two miles of earth for a markin' stone
Two miles of earth for a markin' stone

In the town of Spring Hill you don't sleep easy
Often the Earth will tremble and groan
When the Earth is restless, miners die
Bone and blood is the price of coal
Bone and blood is the price of coal

    -- Peggy Seeger

The version Bono sang is closest to Luke Kelly's version, especially the line "late in the year of '88", although the actual contemporary disaster was 1958.

Luke Kelly's version:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=H78fEeferCg

The 1958 disaster:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=X1_IjRT8rRk

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=QFjCxxFyVps&feature=related

[Brad]

The best line in the (original) song is "All their lives they dug their graves."  Too bad it didn't make into U2's version.

[slaneman]

Does the CD version contain the before and after chatter or just the song??

[Trevor]

the cd version start with "it's a pleasure to be here..." and finish with the "thank you"...

[slaneman]

Thanks. 

[slaneman]

Just for the heck of it here's one of the only 15 JT tour versions. I've got all of them 
 I'm always fascinated by the little changes here and there. Now we're "late in year of '58". And in the 3rd verse Bono seems to forget what Scotia he's in...but all in all it's a much more assured performance.

Springhill Mining Disaster
Eriksburg Shipyard Docks
Gothenburg, Sweden
1987-06-06

The Springhill Mining Disaster

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

In the town of Springhill they don't sleep easy
Often the earth will tremble and roll
When the earth is restless miners die
Bone and blood is the price of coal
Bone and blood is the price of coal

In the town of Springhill, (lamely)? Scotia
Late in the year of ‘58
Well the rain still comes and the sun still shines
But it's dark as a grave in the Cumberland mine
Dark as a grave in the Cumberland mine

Follow to the shouts of a black-faced miner
Listen to the call of the rescue team
We have no water, light, or bread
So we're living on songs and hope instead
Living on songs and hope instead

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

In the town of Springhill they don’t sleep easy
Often the earth will tremble and roll
When the earth is restless miners die
Bone and blood is the price of coal
Bone and blood is the price of coal
Bone and blood is the price of coal

[Aaron]

By the way, this one has a special place in my heart.  I went to university a few miles away from springhill, and developed several friendships with people from there.  I've visited the town frequently, and usually spend at least a weekend there every year.

U2's version of this song always gave me chills.  :-)

[slaneman]

Me too. Bono always put his guts into it. It's quite a dark, bitter protest song. Even for U2. Maybe that's why they performed it a few times and then dropped it.

My grandfather was a coal miner and died of black lung at age 32. Left behind 5 young children. My mom didn't really remember him at all. She had one faded photo. All I ever saw. Not really unusual, though, since thousands of miners died that way.

I imagine you might have some nice pictures from your area which would be very cool to see...