Coal Owner and the Pitman's Wife, The

DESCRIPTION: "A dialog I'll tell you as true as my life, Between a coal owner and a poor pitman's wife." The woman tells the owner she has come from Hell. They are turning out the poor to make room for "the rich wicked race." She tells him to treat his workers well
AUTHOR: William Hornsby?
EARLIEST DATE: 1952 (Lloyd, "Come All Ye Bold Miners")
KEYWORDS: dialog worker warning Hell
FOUND IN: Britain(England)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
MacColl-ShuttleAndCage-IndustrialFolkBallads, pp. 16-17, "The coal owner & the pitman's wife" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, COALOWNR*
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Derry Down" (tune) and references there
NOTES [36 words]: The notes in the Digital Tradition say this came from an 1844 strike. It is sung to the Derry Down tune, though the version in MacColl-ShuttleAndCage-IndustrialFolkBallads isn't quite the Derry Down tune I know. - RBW
File: MacCS16

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