[Verse 1]
Come an' gather 'round friends and I'll tell ya a tale
Of when the red iron ore pits ran a-plenty
But the cardboard-filled windows and old men on the benches
Tell you now that the whole town is empty
[Verse 2]
In the north end of town, my own children have grown
Well I was raised on the other
In the wee hours of youth, my mother took sick
And I was brought up by my brother
[Verse 3]
The iron ore poured as the years passed the door
The drag lines and the shovels they was a-hummin'
'Til one day my brother failed to come home
The same as my father before him
[Verse 4]
Well a long winter's wait from the winda' I watched
My friends they couldn'ta been kinder
And my schooling was cut as I quit in the spring
To marry John Thomas, a miner
[Verse 5]
Oh, the years passed again and the givin' was good
With the lunch bucket filled every season
What with three babies born, the work was cut down
To a half a day's shift with no reason
[Verse 6]
Then the shaft was soon shut and more work was cut
And the fire in the air, it felt frozen
'Til a man come to speak and he said in one week
That number eleven was closin'
[Verse 7]
They complained in the East, they're payin' too high
They say that your ore ain't worth a-diggin'
That it's much cheaper down in the South American towns
Where the miners work almost for nothin'
[Verse 8]
So the minin' gates locked and the red iron rotted
And the room smelled heavy from drinkin'
When the sad silent song made the hour twice as long
As I waited for the sun to go sinking
[Verse 9]
I lived by the window as he talked to himself
This silence of tongues it was buildin'
'Til one morning's wake, the bed it was bare
And I's left alone with three children
[Verse 10]
The summer is gone, the ground's turning cold
The stores one by one they're a-foldin'
My children will go
As soon as they grow
For there ain't nothin' here now to hold them
Lyrics provided by LRCLIB
