Lyrics
Come gather 'round friends and I'll tell you a tale
Come together, I'll narrate a story to my friends
Of when the red iron pits ran a-plenty
About a time when there were plentiful iron mines
But the cardboard-filled windows and old men on the benches
Despite filled windows with cardboard and elderly men on benches,
Tell you now that the whole town is empty
The town is now entirely deserted
In the north end of town my own children are grown
In the northern part of town, my children have grown up
But I was raised on the other
But I grew up in the opposite part
In the wee hours of youth my mother took sick
During my young years, my mother fell ill
And I was brought up by my brother
I was raised by my brother
The iron ore poured as the years passed the door
The iron ore industry flourished over the years
The drag lines an' the shovels they was a-humming
Machinery like drag lines and shovels worked continuously
'Till one day my brother failed to come home
Until one day, my brother didn't return home
The same as my father before him
Similar to my father's fate
Well, a long winter's wait from the window I watched
During a long winter, I observed from the window
My friends they couldn't have been kinder
My friends were supportive
And my schooling was cut as I quit in the spring
I had to stop schooling to marry a miner, John Thomas
To marry John Thomas, a miner
Oh, the years passed again, and the giving was good
Having children reduced my working hours
With the lunch bucket filled every season
Workdays shortened for no clear reason
What with three babies born, the work was cut down
To a half a day's shift with no reason
Mine operations reduced further, shafts closed
Then the shaft was soon shut, and more work was cut
A man announced the imminent closure of mine number eleven
And the fire in the air, it felt frozen
'Till a man come to speak, and he said in one week
Complaints arose about high expenses in the East
That number eleven was closing
They claimed the ore wasn't worth mining
They complained in the East, they are paying too high
They say that your ore ain't worth digging
The mine closed, iron decayed, and drinking became prevalent
That it's much cheaper down in the South American towns
Depression and hopelessness increased, making time drag
Where the miners work almost for nothing
Waiting for the sun to set symbolized hopelessness
So the mining gates locked, and the red iron rotted
I listened to my partner's inner thoughts by the window
And the room smelled heavy from drinking
A communication breakdown was intensifying
Where the sad, silent song made the hour twice as long
One morning, my partner vanished, leaving me with three kids
As I waited for the sun to go sinking
I lived by the window as he talked to himself
My children will leave once grown, as there's nothing to keep them
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 them
There's nothing left in the town to anchor or attract my children
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