Song picture
Battle of Blair Mountain
Comment Share
acoustic folk social commentary political satire western massachusetts oil coal climate change fracking incineration music for social change nuclear energy
Folk singer, social commentary, satire, people's stories, children's music
Hi Folks, The Bard Insurgent here. My comrade D.O. (the Poet Roofer) and I got that handle (The Bard Insurgents) from traveling town to town performing songs and poetry about people's lives. I've been performing since I was 3 years old, cutting my vocal chords on liturgical and classical music. I was a concert soloist as a child, when I wasn't herding cows, throwing hay and shoveling manure. During the Civil Rights movement and the Vietnam war, I began writing songs about social change. I left the country in 1970 and my dozen years in other countries, mostly in Africa & South America, have provided a global perspective to my music. My travels helped me realize that people all around the world are essentially the same in their basic life needs and their desires to live peacefully in their communities. These experiences have informed my commitment to working for international understanding as I organize at home. A powerful way to educate and inspire is with music. I tell people's stories, do social commentary with a touch of satire that I hope you enjoy and share with your friends, as well as sing together in the streets and in your living rooms. I also have children's music written for the children in my life with Jacob and Kayla as primary muses. Looking forward to seeing you on the road, Tom
Song Info
Genre
Acoustic Cover Songs
Charts
#386 in subgenre Peak #11
Charts
Peak #197
Author
Louise Mosrie, Blair Richardson
Rights
Tom Neilson 2011
Uploaded
December 21, 2012
Track Files
MP3
MP3 4.3 MB 128 kbps 4:39
Lyrics
Find a vein & drain the black gold. Hoping to god that the timbers hold Like my father before me, it’s all I know We live only to harvest the coal. Mine owners mercy about as shallow as a grave We’re living in shanty towns we ain’t got no say 14 hr shifts & such a meager wage And Mother Jones can’t help us now anyway Well take the roads we’ll take the train by force O deliver us lord from the gathering storm Lay down your bibles, take up your gun Blair Mountain, here we come Red bandanas tell us what side you’re on We’re the rednecks of the union 1921 We leave tonight, 13,000 strong Well take the fight to Blair Mountain before the dawn. We’ll take the roads we’ll take the train by force O deliver us lord from the gathering storm Lay down your bibles, take up your gun Blair Mountain, here we come I fight for my father still buried in the mine I fight for my son so he’ll have a better life We’re soldiers of the great war & it don’t seem right To treat a man like a dog just to make a dime. We’ll take the roads we’ll take the train by force O deliver us lordfrom the gathering storm Lay down your bibles, take up your gun Blair Mountain, here we come Find a vein & drain the black gold You better hope to god that the timbers hold
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