Lyrics

I remember the day the explosion ripped the mine
There were twenty-five miners working to make their time
They had worked all night up the coal face
Tryin’ to earn their bread
When a rumble in the earth
Left each one filled with dread.

They were standing at the bottom just waiting to catch the trip
They were laughing and joking and gripping their pails in their grip
When a rumble in the earth stopped their laughter
Sending fear into their bones
And the first thought that they had
Was “Dear God get me home.”

The rumble got stronger
And then it started to roar
The twenty-five miners
Fell on their face to the floor
They heard the roaring get stronger
As it moved up from the deep
And twenty-five widows
Would stand at the pit and weep.

The miners lay on the face in their cold dark fear
And some of them cried as the roaring began to get near
The timbers started to crumble
The beams in the roof gave way
Twenty-five miners lay dead beneath the clay.

The widows and children were gathering around the mine
Sending out words they hoped would come back with a sign
Women held their children near them
Against the sudden woe
And twenty-five humans lay dead in the earth below

Yes I remember the day the explosion ripped the mine
My father and my brother were down there making their time
And I swore that day to all living
That I would never work at coal
Even if I lived to be ninety-nine years old.

I remember the day the explosion ripped our home
Ripped our home.