Ever since Bob wrote this song thousands of towns have been abandoned. Little mining towns, mill towns, and even my birthplace on Lake Erie had shipyards to repair and refurbish the ore and coal vessels. All gone now. Dylan saw which way the wind was blowing and knew the region he and I were from was pretty much played out, Brave of him (in 1962!) to sing it from a wife's point of view -- but he knew by heart the women of the North Country and that was the honest and courageous part of his early career.
Interesting & insightful lyrics & no doubt with this paradigm that threads a great deal of Bob Dylan's early songs is why he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2016.
Nothing goes harder than a song depicting the outsourcing of manual labour, the slow decay of America's mining towns and the inescapable fate of its inhabitants
Timeless song. beautiful testimony to all these fighters of life. I like the text, the melody and especially the voice of Bob Dylan who bears this testimony. Vehicle of the soul, the voice is unspeakable, but it recounts everything it has experienced, incognito. Thanks a lot.
Come gather 'round friends and I'll tell you a tale Of when the red iron pits ran a-plenty But the cardboard-filled windows and old men on the benches Tell you now that the whole town is empty In the north end of town my own children are grown But I was raised on the other In the wee hours of youth my mother took sick And I was brought up by my brother The iron ore poured as the years passed the door The drag lines an' the shovels they was a-humming 'Till one day my brother failed to come home The same as my father before him Well, a long winter's wait from the window I watched My friends they couldn't have been kinder And my schooling was cut as I quit in the spring To marry John Thomas, a miner Oh, the years passed again, and the giving was good With the lunch bucket filled every season What with three babies born, the work was cut down To a half a day's shift with no reason Then the shaft was soon shut, and more work was cut And the fire in the air, it felt frozen 'Till a man come to speak, and he said in one week That number eleven was closing They complained in the East, they are paying too high They say that your ore ain't worth digging That it's much cheaper down in the South American towns Where the miners work almost for nothing So the mining gates locked, and the red iron rotted And the room smelled heavy from drinking Where the sad, silent song made the hour twice as long As I waited for the sun to go sinking I lived by the window as he talked to himself This silence of tongues it was building 'Till one morning's wake, the bed it was bare And I was left alone with three children The summer is gone, the ground's turning cold The stores one by one they're all folding My children will go as soon as they grow Well, there ain't nothing here now to hold the
To this day, it still baffles me, that Bob Dylan who would have been just 20 or 21 at the time, wrote this song with the understanding of a man who had actually been working day in and day out for years and years. No one in the industry of folk or country that I can name; even comes close.
So the minin' gates locked And the red iron rotted And the room smelled heavy from drinkin' When the sad silent song Made the hour twice as long As I waited for the sun to go sinking Outstanding
This is my grandmother story from the welsh mines, when they sold out to South African apartheid coal. Dylan was the first anti globalisation voice I believe
It speaks of such hardship on so many levels , the line "it's much cheaper down in the south American towns, where the miners work almost for nothing" is heartbreaking.
This is a somber song. I picture that woman left with three children. She was probably feeding Cambell soup to her children. It was cold in the house and she had only a few bucks in the coffee can.
I love how his voice is always a bit raspy , also his own personal accent of pronouncing and spelling words...this hit also sound like 'working class hero' by Lennon (plastic Ono band) in early 70's, same-close rhythm was played by Dylan in early 60's; just a point to proove that Dylan inspired many , yet took few inner creative steps himself in regards...really deserves That Litterature's Noble prize , well owned by this Big Gent.
Ditto, My parents were Okie Cotton/Peanut farmers, but most of my uncles on both sides were coal miners in Eastern Oklahoma. My Dad once said " I took one look at their black faces and coughin mouths, and it was enough to keep 'pullin boil'. Bob Dylan's story/song is their story too.
Highways are being designed to take you to the big stores, and forget the little stores. Soon i95 will be moving and those ole mom & Pop roads will turn into desserts
How could've I had known. I tell no lies. I tell only the truth, even to the unfaithful. Sometimes I too, have my own doubts. The Earth will be filled up with Ash, but If what's created at all, it will be created again, just as children have their own children. Life will go on, and it will never end. Honesty is very important to me. Everyone's experienced loneliness before. I too, have been alone before on my own, and I too once lost everything. I took it as an experience, and I started talking to God. How can I explain to anyone how that experience became good to me, and how it grew me? It was when my two children left home, and one of them was at the College dorm, the other room mating on his way to his own life. Then someone walked into my life, just really as the only one who God has ever given me before. Now we have become more less like roommate friends ever since his health has gone down hill. We work together but are free spirited people. I cannot talk with someone through some kind of hidden messages no matter how creative it may be, even though that's a good thing. When I said the word three.. don't laugh now.. I meant three times dummy, not three people. I'm just being real. Have you ever heard Cheryl Lynn's Song called something like Got To Be Real? That's how I think. Although, The Principal of My Highschool did tell my mom one time that I have a wild imagination. I just wrote stuff down all my life. I don't understand the wolf thing. All I know about that is this old German lady told me one time that she had to walk through the black forest to get to the beach near the Baltic Sea or something, and she always passed the wolves, real ones, but that they never bothered her because she and the wolves had a understanding sort of mind thing. I thought it was strange what she said. I'm not a stupid person, but I'm not as sharp minded as you. I kinda look up to you too, and feel like I should honor you for your talents, but I call them God Given Gifts, and yes, The Holy Spirit really does exist and He talks to people. He did talk to me about you. It's not crazy. It's not exactly like some people might think. You don't actually hear a voice. You hear things in your own spirit, sometimes something like music too to me, but I hear Trumpets and Angels singing. Also, I never cheated on anyone in my life, and no one has ever cheated on me. They did other things, but not that. I'm not a man to tell you what to do. I tell myself what to do. I don't like either parties bossing each other around. I don't even tell my own grown children what to do unless they ask my advice. I always tried to have them making their own sound decisions. Even a good boss does that with their employees, like empowering them, if you know what I mean. So, I do believe in destiny to a degree, but life is also what you make it. I do believe in comradity and friendship, and I think every relationship is important. I think you have to get to know someone before anything else and things should always be on a personal level. Wars are fought out of fear because no one got to know each other enough personally. I'm not going to walk into a situation that I don't really know what's up with people. I'm not crazy or anything and I don't want anything from you, just putting the love out there to another human being. There's not enough of that today. I can say that yes, I do feel something for you. I'm not sure you even care. So what if you don't. Just because you're famous, it shouldn't mean that you can't talk to every day people and Visa versa, right? If you want me to go away I will. I mean no harm, nor intend no harm. I raised a daughter who's a Nurse and Teacher, and a son who's a Teacher too. It must mean that I care about my fellow human beings. I liked your music all my life. I don't understand all of it, but that's not important. Have a good night and day every day because we're all blessed to be her, just experiencing each moment. I also love you. So who cares if I do. It's no big deal. VC
