Coal Miner's Song, The

DESCRIPTION: "Working in the mines, boys, Mighty hard to stand; Lordy, lordy, these old mines Has killed many a man." The singer described the hard work, the bad food, the poverty, the waiting for the whistle, the "Mine boss at the office, Cutting down our pay."
AUTHOR: "Aunt Pricey Preston's Mose"?
EARLIEST DATE: 1939 (Thomas)
KEYWORDS: mining hardtimes money nonballad
FOUND IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Thomas-BalladMakingInMountainsOfKentucky, p. 247, "The Coal Miner's Song" (1 text) (OakEd, p. 247)
NOTES [59 words]: Though Thomas does not list a tune, and does list an author (sort of), this looks to me more traditional than many of the pieces in her book. At the very least, I am sure the tune is traditional.
It appears from her account that the author managed to bring his guitar to work with him in the mines, allowing him to sing the song while there. Right. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.7
File: ThBa247

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