In Loving Memory Of
John Joseph Quann Jr.
1922 - 1995
and all miners who lost their lives
to support their families in the mines.
Recorded in Jan 1999 by Riverbend
Mail - Phil Jenkins
1
Cape Breton people wonder why;
So many miners had to die.
Men who worked and learned to pray;
That they would again see the light of day.
11
Bright white lamps illume their way,
So far removed from light of day.
One hundred tests they face each week,
Down in the mines the coal to seek.
111
Trained to live beneath the soil,
In dark and damp they had to toil.
To wrest the minerals from the land,
By strength of mind and back of hand.
1V
Courage is a must they say,
To work as miners day by day.
So far removed from child and wife;
And face the rigors of a miners life.
V
Now high above in the light of sun.
A child at play enjoys his fun.
Fun at times concealing fear,
That the mines will claim his dad so dear.
V1
And as they work beneath the clay,
With heads bowed down these miners pray,
That God will hear them up above
And send them safely to the ones they love.
V11
Now if this cannot come to pass,
And he must pay the price at last.
The miner leaves his last demand
Keep my child safe above the land.
