Draegermen of the Westray Mine

Tags:

Lyrics

Draegermen, digging in that cold coal mine
God only knows just what they’ll find
Down in that cold coal mine
Draegerman down in that Westray mine.

Searching and hoping for a breath of life
To bring the good news for a mother and wife
Down in that cold coal mine
Draegermen down in that Westray mine

Fresh air flowing through a huge rock fall
Where the bare-faced miners could only crawl
Down in that cold coal mine
Draegermen down in that Westray mine.

Digging through the coal dust, it’s not safe to pass
Are there airways blocked by that methane gas
Down in that cold coal mine
Down in that Westray mine

Draegermen, draegermen looking so sad
For the twenty-six miners and the lives they once had
Down in that cold coal mine
Draegermen down in that Westray mine
Draegermen down in that Westray mine.

 Lyrics transcribed from the recording:
MacDonald, Val. N.d. Yours Truly. CD EPC901CD.


3 responses to “Draegermen of the Westray Mine”

  1. […] an interesting legacy is his daughter, Valerie Macdonald’s, song she wrote about it, at Cape Breton University. Another great place to visit is CBC Archives. A very good page with the story, followed up with […]

  2. Jan McHattie says:

    Hi, a band from Pictou County, NS has a song called Westray Trilogy written by Paul Morse.He lost a friend at Westray and wrote the song for him.It is not your usual folk song but it is Awesome and loved by many. Just thought you may also appreciate it. You can find it at ghostriderrocks.com Cheers !!!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *