That line "I knew every holler, every cool swimming hole" is so nostalgic to a certain group of people who grew up exploring Appalachia as often as they could. Those mountains raised people in a way the just doesn't happen in other places, and you can't understand if you didn't learn about the world by jumping into glassy snowmelt water, catching salamanders (I know better now) and river fish and letting them go, wondering how there could be so much magic and mystery in the world and how it can just go one and on into the distance, one mountain after another. So much sorrow echoing across those hills, but so much more beautiful because of that. There's no place like it. This song is about a sad truth of exploitated labor, but it's also an expression of supreme pride. The humans are a temporary problem, but the mountain is your first and last home, no matter how far away you travel. I'll be seeing the Blue Ridge behind my eyelids when I die.
Beautifully said! I wasn't born in Appalachia, but them mountains have always felt like home to me. They are the place I ran to when my life fell apart, and they put me back together with a grace I've found nowhere else. 💜
God bless our coal miners ! I’ve been a W.Va. Underground coal miner almost 25 years , and yes I’ve seen a lot of sadness and grief , but I still pick up my dinner bucket and do it every day for my family ! And , I am the fourth generation of my family to do so , as I said , God bless our coal miners !
@@coolrecorderguy4206 without the coal that coal mines and coal miners provided would we have won World War 2? It is adolescent to demonize those who provide for their families, save the world and provide the niceties that you yourself hold dear.
That line,"The ghosts in the tunnels, that the company sealed." always haunts me. I live in east Tennessee next to few different old mining towns. My grandfather worked in one of them back when there were two major mining accidents close to each other. One being the Fraterville mining disaster. In which practically the whole town of men were killed in the mine, was really no men left in the town after it happened. And now if you go up there, the entrance is of course sealed. And there is something in the air around these areas. And you just kind of think about all the lives that were lost and souls that were trapped in the mountain. You can even read some of their letters that some of them wrote to their families while they were waiting to be rescued. With such sentiments as,"Oh God for one more breath. Ellen remember me as long as you live. Goodbye darling." I believe there were only 3 adult males left in the town after all was said and done. 216 miners died and only 89 of the bodies were recovered.
Words...is what Steve does....if it isn't humorous, moving, sad, sly, cocky, reflective, historical, or uplifting...it is probably not a Steve Earle song.
@@xkguy Yeah, I've been a Steve Earle fan my whole life. My dad introduced me to him when I was a kid and he was my first concert as a kid too. :) My first show was Steve Earle and John Prine together at the Bijou Theater here in Knoxville, TN. Was really the time in which I fell in love with music and have been involved in music ever since then. Be it playing or listening or now helping manage a label.
God bless Steve Earle,part of my family lost water on their land due to strip mining,after 2 long years ,the Company had to pay and water was restored,on white oak Creek Rd, outside of London Kentucky,water is back but family against family wounds will never heal
My grandpa started working in the mines when he was 13, right after his dad died. Worked there until he retired and paid his union dues until the day he left this earth. I think of him every time I hear this song
To my father a mountain man, and a coal miner..may you be serving god from his side....... Steve SAYS it all, I remember the mornings when you got home all black from the dust, and I remember your tears when you lost your brothers in the mines of West Virginia....... BUT most of all your love of a song..... so DAD this song is for you...and your friends...... GOD KNOWS my love for you, and my sorrow that you are gone.............
Here in Germany they close the Coalmining in 2018, after 150 Years.....good guys lost their jobs....and some their life. Here in Germany we say " Glück Auf " when we go in the mountain.... "Glück Auf" ⚒
My only older brother(I have 7 bros.) Joe who passed away at age 49(13 yrs ago) had a lot of influence on my musical taste. One of his favorites was Mr. Earle. Thanks to Joe I have been listening to Steve since the beginning of his career. I saw The Mountain tour before it fell apart when Del McCoury quit because he thought Steve's stage presence was hurting his image. Anyway I'm glad they made this album together, it's my #2 of Steve's albums. #1 would be Train' A Comin'...... r.i.p. Joe and thanks for all the music Steve.
Ginger Goodwin was a local martyr in a coal town named Cumberland, on Vancouver Island BC in Western Canada. He fought and organized for better conditions and pay in the Dunsmiur mines where people kept getting sick and dying in explosions. Despite having black lung by his early 20's, he was considered fit for military service, and conscripted for the Great War. He hid in the woods to avoid being drafted, and was murdered by the RCMP who hunted him down and shot him in the back. The town of Cumberland reenacts his funeral procession every year. Much respect to all miners.
I think Benjamin managed to balance perfectly a respectful tribute to Steve Earle and still make it his own. The fact that both are equally moving yet SO different is amazing.
I was born on this mountain a long time ago Before they knocked down the timber and strip-mined the coal When you rose in the mornin' before it was light To go down in that dark hole and come back up at night I was born on this mountain, this mountain's my home And, she holds me and keeps me from worry and woe Well, they took everything that she gave, now they're gone But i'll die on this mountain, this mountain's my home I was young on this mountain but now I am old And i knew every holler, every cool swimmin' hole 'til one night I lay down and woke up to find That my childhood was over and i went down in the mine I was born on this mountain, this mountain's my home And, she holds me and keeps me from worry and woe Well, they took everything that she gave, now they're gone But i'll die on this mountain, this mountain's my home There's a hole in this mountain and it's dark and it's deep And god only knows all the secrets it keeps There's a chill in the air only miners can feel There're ghosts in the tunnels that the company sealed I was born on this mountain, this mountain's my home And, she holds me and keeps me from worry and woe Well, they took everything that she gave, now they're gone But i'll die on this mountain, this mountain's my home
Love you Steve, from WV coal country. You certainly have this hillbilly's seal of approval. Love Devil Put The Coal In The Ground too. You inspired me to make music, and now I play three instruments. Thanks Steve. Bless you brother.
This is Utah coal country where I am from. My brother in law worked 42 years 3 miles underground on the fire/demolition crew. ALL my high school buddies decided this would be what they saw everyday.
In Illinois we might be at the beginning of the plains but in working on a facebook page about labor monuments and memorials in the state I learned a lot more about the widespread culture of coal mining here, (the entire state lies over coal) and it follows we have the site of more than one largest disaster of its time, from Cherry in the north to Panama in the south, and the final resting places of John L. Lewis and Mother Mary Jones. And every word of the song rings true, mountain or plain, and Steve Earles emotion can always bring tears. and resolve. IF YOU HAVE A BOSS YOU NEED A UNION
Simply beautiful. I am not a coal miner. I live in a city. But this song has touched me from the first time I heard it. Steve is one of the greatest songwriters ever.
it's sad that this man is as great of a singer song writer will not get the credit he is due till he is gone . but I know what he is now and words can't describe
@@susanholly5923 That is a traditional song, not Steve's. There are many recordings out there, but I have never found the full version by Steve. I am pretty sure it was never released.
I saw this on BBC3 ages and ages ago and i came straight on here to find it, at last its been uploaded. Amazing song but an amazing version of this song, the voice, the lyrics, the sentiment, perfect.
His best song of many. Says always played that song for late great Townes Van Zandt after the song. Van Zandt's "My Proud Mountains" a GREAT song, as well. Possibly Steve's inspiration to write this one, would say.
Has to be my favorite Steve Earle song, and i would really love to get a full version of Wayfaring Stranger he sings in The World Made Straight movie, it is the best version i ever heard in my life
The Lost Dog cover was how I got here as well and I am a subscriber to Lost Dog but did go to see Steve Earle way back when. Great song, sad song and sadder now that I’ve looked up the whole story. From coal country NS Canada.
The mine made headline news when six miners were trapped by a collapse in August 2007. Ten days later, three rescue workers were killed by a subsequent collapse. The six miners were later declared dead and their bodies were never recovered.
re:mountain. I çry.I cry.I will be 62 come March.ALL of US had those years that Were OUR Familys,and Great Grand Parents.MY Lake,my Beautiful lake Waramaug, taken for 37 $ debt in depression. Other Side,with the Pinnacle, held out longer.but N.Ykrs got June Rd too.Our Life times as kids on thru were my Best Truest Memories that will die in my Heart,as should be,I guess.But,it was MY FAULT,days kept Slipping,Partying more important. I HATE Myself for NOT Putting a FOOT DOWN. Chief Waramaug, his Buriel Ground?if I çould Drive there.I wish had car.all of us have our Crosses.Lynn Fitzpatrick 12-7-17
You haven't really heard this song till you've heard the cover by Benjamin Tod. I gotta give credit to Earle for writing it but the Benjamin Tod version just packs so much more emotion and feeling, honestly one of the best blue grass songs ever.
