In the town of Springhill, Nova Scotia
Down in the dark of the Cumberland Mine
There's blood on the coal and the miners lie
In roads that never saw sun or sky. (x2)
In the town of Springhill, you don't sleep easy
Often the earth will tremble and roll
When the earth is restless, miners die
Bone and blood is the price of coal. (x2)
In the town of Springhill, Nova Scotia
Late in the year of fifty-eight
The day still comes and the sun still shines
(But it's) Dark as the grave in the Cumberland mine. (x2)
Three days past when the lamps gave out
And Caleb Rushton got up and said
We've no more water, or light, or bread
(So we'll) Live on songs and hope instead. (x2)
Listen for the shouts of the blackfaced miners
Listen thru the rubble for a rescue team
Three hundred tons of coal and slag
Hope imprisoned in a three foot seam. (x2)
Twelve days passes and some were rescued
Leaving the dead to lie alone
Thru all their days they dug their grave
Two miles of earth is a marking stone. (x2)