West Virginia Mine Disaster
Hello again, Friends,
I’d like to devote a blog to the great Jean Ritchie original song “West Virginia Mine
Disaster.”
I first heard Jean
herself perform this song several years ago at a music festival where we were
appearing together. It is sung a
ccapella, and she did so, sitting in a chair under a tent with lots of folks
listening. It was transformative for
me. The story of a woman whose husband
disappears into the mines one day never to return was one that hadn’t been told
quite like that ever in my experience.
And, true to Jean’s introduction of the song when she sings it, it
hadn’t ever been written from that perspective before either ~ of the
woman’s view of things when a tragic accident falls on a mining community.
Jean always says that
when she ever heard of a story that didn’t have a song to go with it (as was
always the case when she was growing up in Eastern Kentucky), she knew she had
to write one.
So this is how Jean introduces the song and it’s now what I say
to audiences of my own:
“When a mining accident occurred in the neighboring state of
West Virginia, it came to my mind that all the mining disaster songs were about
the places, the men’s names and the dates. None of them told how the women felt when they
had to stay home. It was taboo then for women to go into the mines and the women
would often wonder what goes on when the whistle blows off time.”
Say did you see him
going, it was early this morning?
He passed all your
houses on the way to the coal.
He was tall, he was
slender, and his dark eyes so tender,
His occupation was
mining, West Virginia his home.
It was just before
twelve, I was feeding the children.
Ben Mosely came
running to give us the news;
Number eight is all
flooded, many men are in danger,
And we don’t know
their number, but we fear they’re all doomed.
So I picked up the
baby and I left all the others
To comfort each other
and pray for our own;
There’s Timmy,
fourteen, and there’s John not much younger,
Their own time soon
will be coming to go down the black hole.
O if I had the money
to do more than just feed them,
I’d give them good
learning, the best could be found,
Then when they grew
up, they’d be checkers and weighers,
And not spend their
time drilling in the dark underground.
O what can I say to
his poor little children?
And what can I tell
his old mother at home?
And what can I say to
my heart that’s clear-broken?
To my heart that’s
clear broken, if my darling is gone?
Say, did you see him
going, it was early this morning?
He passed all your
houses on the way to the coal,
He was tall, he was
slender, and his dark eyes so tender,
His occupation was
mining, West Virginia his home.
Jean’s beautiful
recording of this song can be found on her 1971 album “Clear Waters
Remembered.” Clear Waters Remembered
It was also included on the
marvelous soundtrack album to the PBS documentary “The Appalachians” The Appalachians
I was lucky and honored to perform this song
for Jean herself when we worked together on our 2005 Jean Ritchie tribute show
“Singin’ the Moon Up: The Voice of Jean Ritchie” at Penn State. Later that same year I began adding West
Virginia to our regular concerts with the Hilonesome Band. Here it is from The Coffee Gallery Backstage
in Altadena, California:
Discussion of this song brings to mind the
singing of a ccapella songs in the Appalachian style and tradition. I was reminded of the power of this type of
performance when seeing the Chieftains in concert recently. Their percussionist came to the front of the
stage early in their first set to sing un-accompanied, and it was powerful,
pure and beautiful.
In my research, I found that singing solo served
a purpose in the country community: it was
always a time of quiet respite in the midst of noisy gatherings, and the singer
would always tell a tale with his or her tune.
It was implicit that the story not be “acted out” but simply sung
plainly: heartfelt, yes, but not
animatedly, as an actor would, “trying to put the song over.” In my experience, either listening or
singing, when the story is “told” this way it is more able to be vividly imaged
by the listener. The singer just simply
needs to “get out of the way” and trust the song, trust its own integrity and
life. For me, it truly becomes an internal
journey. And to underline the spiritual
nature of the performance, I would remind everyone that in fact, the old-time
rural Baptist church didn’t allow accompaniments to their hymns, believing that
God didn’t need the “decoration” for an expression from the human to the
Divine.
The Jean Ritchie Tribute
Project
There’s some great news
coming out of the East coast that I can let you know about! It’s the soon-to-be-announced
tribute CD project to honor Jean Ritchie, produced by long-time colleagues and
friends Dan Schatz, Charlie Pilzer and Mick Lane. This CD project will be a treasure to honor Jean’s
life's work and will feature new recordings of her original songs and songs
from her family tradition, with all proceeds benefiting Jean as well as
organizations that work against mountaintop removal. Some wonderful and amazing artists are
involved, and I eagerly await its official announcement.
I was honored and happy to be invited to sing
on this project, and my recording of “West Virginia Mine Disaster” will be
there.
Please stay tuned for
more news of this landmark album coming soon.
In the meantime, I send
you blessings
and love,
Susie
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