Upper Big Branch

April 12, 2010 | Music, Thinky, Words

I have been following the story of the Upper Big Branch mine explosion pretty loosely, and with an emotional response rather than factual interest. For as long as I can remember mines have fascinated and frightened me. It may be due to a made-for-TV film I saw when I was young called Haunters of the Deep. Or it may just be down to the fact that, like most people, the thought of working thousands of feet underground in the dark and claustrophobic spaces of a mine sounds terrifying. And then there’s the black lung, emphysema, chronic bronchitis and all the other respiratory diseases that come with the job. Plus the notoriously low pay for those willing to put up with all the negatives already stacked high against them. All in all, it paints a picture of a pretty grim profession, for low financial return.

When I started to listen to Appalachian old-time music I came across a number of mining songs, prevalent as they are in the coal belt of Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Kentucky. Miners, and their plight, have been immortalised in song since early Appalachians (and diggers across the world) first struck coal and the legend of the mine and the strange, soot-covered men that risked their lives in the deep took on a whole new dimension for me. The miner is a labouring man, taking his place next to train drivers, farmers, steel workers and sailors as part of a particular folklore and legend. Miners lives have been immortalised in songs and stories of tragedy, heroism, love and hatred. Blackleg Miner, a British folk song is about hatred towards strikebreakers and the miners who continued to work throughout an industrial action. Coal Miner’s Daughter is a sentimental description of life in a poor mining family, Sixteen Tons is about the mining company (company store), and the power it wields over every aspect in the life of the miner. And there are countless songs about mining disasters and trapped miners, which are about camaraderie and the brotherhood of miners.

Anyway, as I have read about the Upper Big Branch disaster, many of these songs came to mind and I decided to compile them together as a nod to those who were killed deep in the ground and the families they left behind. This is by no means a representative selection of mining songs. It is simply every song about mining I can remember I own. Not all the songs are even specifically about mining. Swannanoa Tunnel is about digging a tunnel and The Recruiting Collier is about a miner press-ganged into service in the army. But you’ll get the idea. And finally, it seems poignant to me that the bodies of 29 miners will be pulled from the ground in West Virginia only to be buried again as this seems to sum up what is so evocative about a mining disaster, and mining in general: a human life spent underground, and eternity spent the same way.

Coal Miner’s Blues

1. Coal Miner’s Blues ~ The Carter Family
2. He’s Only a Miner Killed in the Ground ~ Ted Chesnut
3. Miner’s Prayer ~ Dwight Yoakam
4. Blackleg Miner ~ Richard Thompson
5. Red Jacket Mine Explosion ~ The Phipps Family
6. Dark As A Dungeon ~ Merle Travis
7. Shut Up in Coal Creek Mine ~ Green Bailey
8. My Bonny Miner Lad ~ Shirley Collins
9. The Dying Miner ~ Woody Guthrie
10. The Recruited Collier ~ Anne Briggs
11. Sixteen Tons ~ George Davis
12. Coal Miner’s Daughter ~ Loretta Lynn
13. Coal Creek ~ Roscoe Holcomb
14. Swannanoa Tunnel ~ Bascom Lamar Lunsford

Mediafire download: Coal Miner’s Blues

One Remark on Upper Big Branch

  1. Tom Abbott says:
    April 14, 2010 at 2:33 pm

    A fantastic post, Dave. Really interesting. Great closing image of a life spent underground only to be followed by an eternity still there.

    I’m writing what could possibly be a self contained story within the novel right now about a mining disaster. The first part is already done and runs at 2500 words. Holler if you fancy a read.

Remark