Lyrics

At a mining town in Nova Scotia,
Springhill, they said, was the name,
An explosion within a coal mine;
Thirty-eight men’s lives were claimed.
If you can spare a moment
And listen now to me,
I’ll try and tell you the story
Of this terrible tragedy.

’Twas the first day of November
When the explosion shook the town,
Trapping a hundred and eighteen men
A mile beneath the ground.
Rescue parties at once started working
To find the men trapped below,
But poisonous gas within the mine
Made the progress rather slow.

After long hours of waiting
And all hope was fading fast,
Good news came Saturday morning:
We’ve reached some of the men at last!
A general lifting of spirits
Came from those who waited and prayed,
And from the gas-filled coal mine
The first thirty-six were saved.

Still the draegermen worked onward
And praying that they would win
And save the other seventy-six
Who were still trapped within.
A day and two nights more waiting,
Hope again was growing dim,
When good news came for the second time:
We’ve reached those trapped within!

Monday morning gave the answer.
Though death had taken its toll,
Fifty-two more were rescued.
And then we heard: That is all!
For some there was rejoicing,
Others, sorrows and tears.
For many still within the mine
Had come to their death in there.

Now you have heard the story
How brave men risked their lives,
And from a gas-filled coal mine
Eighty-eight men did survive.
The reason for these tragedies
We never will know why,
The answer’s in the power
Of the Master up on high.