Words & Music by Brooke Abbey, 2006.
One night we couldn't decide whether to sing a mining disaster song, a train song, or a maritime tragedy. Why choose, I figure! This is our saddest song. Sniff.
Let me tell you the story, as sad as it's true Am - Dm Am
Of the 17 men of the Easthill Mine crew F Am E Am
They were digging for copper for telephone wires Am - Dm Am
When the pitshaft was blocked by a terrible fire F Am E -
Escape was cut off by the flames and the ash Am - F -
Yet they might have been rescued but for that ship crash F Am Dm E
Let me tell you the story, as sad as it's true Am - Dm Am
Of the 48 sailors and the 17 men of the Easthill Mine crew F Am F Am E Am
(etc)
The S.S. Kentucky was badly off course
To've arrived in the tailing pond instead of the port
She ran aground in the smoke at the top of the mine
Which also obscured the rail passenger line
Let me tell you the story, as sad as it's true
Of the 94 train passengers, 48 sailors and the 17 men of the Easthill Mine crew
Though your train's engineer may be valiant and skilled
If your train hits a steamship, you're bound to be killed
Yet this terrible wreck would have caused much less fuss
If the train had avoided that yellow school bus
Let me tell you the story, as sad as it's true
Of Miss Mullen's first grade class, the 94 train passengers, 48 sailors and the 17 men
of the Easthill Mine crew
Those poor tots and their teacher were on a school visit
To the Easthill Mine's Safety Museum exhibit
Their passing was tragic but mercifully fast -
They probably never saw the puppies caught in the blast
Let me tell you the story, as sad as it's true
Of the 8 orphan puppies, Miss Mullen's first grade class, the 94 train passengers, 48
sailors and the 17 men of the Easthill Mine crew
The dogs had been rescued that day from the pound
And those brave orphan pups to a new life were bound
To a school to be trained as guide dogs for the blind
But their truck's awful luck took them past Easthill Mine
And they avoided the mineshaft F Am
And the ship and the train wrecks F Am
And they swerved around the burning school bus F Am
When suddenly a jet containing 50 tiny babies and the only sample of the cure for cancer
crashed in to them in a fiery explosion whose unlikely seismic repercussions triggered a
volcanic eruption! (F Am)
Ohhhhh! E
And that was the story, as sad as it's true Am - Dm Am
Of the lava-covered major urban centres of the eastern seaboard, the 50 tiny babies, the
lost cure for cancer, the 8 orphan puppies, Miss Mullen's first grade class, the 94 train
passengers, 48 sailors and the 17 men of the Easthill Mine crew (F Am) E Am
credits
from Steel Cage Match,
released June 19, 2009
Vocals: Brooke Abbey, John Caspell
Banjola: Brooke Abbey
Guitar: John Caspell
Bass: Peggy Lunderville
Tony is the recording genius who produced Steel Cage Match and Vixy does some backup vocals. But also! Tony is a GUITAR GENIUS and vixy is an ENCHANTED SINGER and they write AMAZING SONGS. Brooke Abbey
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Australian singer-songwriter explores self-examination, loneliness, and post-pandemic malaise through delicate, empathetic folk pop. Bandcamp New & Notable May 5, 2024