Lost Mining and Labor History of "Blair Mountain"
"Said the more that we’re workin’ the faster we die
In debt to our gravestone and that debt’s passed down
To the eldest son ‘til he’s put in the ground"
In debt to our gravestone and that debt’s passed down
To the eldest son ‘til he’s put in the ground"
"Blair Mountain" from Zara Alexandra unearths the lost history of the largest labor uprising in the United States. During the Appalachian Coal Wars of the early 1900s, about 10,000 West Virginian coal miners faced off against 3,000 anti-union forces, including law enforcement and the US military.
"Back on Blair Mountain where the rich folk had said
Y'all better getting workin’ or you’re better off dead
Well I’m just a poor man and a poor man I’ll be
But I’d rather have my dignity and have my children be free"
Y'all better getting workin’ or you’re better off dead
Well I’m just a poor man and a poor man I’ll be
But I’d rather have my dignity and have my children be free"
The coal miners marched for over 60 miles to protest their lack of a union, intolerable working conditions, and meager scrip pay. They faced the loss of their homes and jobs if they joined a union. Adding to their hardship was a corrupt local government controlled by the mine owners, who frequently assassinated anyone who supported the miners.
"Where your kinfolks be found workin’ down in the mines
And the books we were taught were never to say
What happened in West Virginia one September day"
And the books we were taught were never to say
What happened in West Virginia one September day"
This song reminds us of the over 100 years of violent struggle to secure our right to organize and bargain collectively. These hard-won rights are more important today than ever before. The miners’ chants echo across history, asking us, which side are you on?