WORKING MAN
(Rita MacNeil (m & l) 1988)

Rita MacNeil / Men Of The Deeps 1988

Rita MacNeil composes music and lyrics together 
spontaneously before recording to tape and has over 
200 BMI registrations.

Of interest: The Men Of The Deeps are the only coal miners choir in North America.
They started singing in 1966 to celebrate the history of coal mining in Cape Breton
which began over 250 years ago. Their members comprise an ensemble of coal miners
and former miners all based in Cape Breton Island, Province of Nova Scotia Canada. A
sample from this history notes that the miners in 1873, were paid 80 cents a day to
go underground (boys 65 cents).

The lyrics for this song express just how much love these miners have for their home
and family, despite their sometimes harrowing vocation.





It's a workin' man l am
And I've been down under ground
And I swear to God if ever see the sun
Or for any length of time
I can hold it in my mind
I never again will go down under ground.

At the age of sixteen years
Oh he quarrels with his peers
Who vowed they'd never see another one
In the dark recess of the mines
Where you age before your time
And the coal dust lies heavy on your lungs.

It's a workin' man l am
And I've been down under ground
And I swear to God if ever see the sun
Or for any length of time
I can hold it in my mind
I never again will go down under ground.

At the age of sixty four
Oh he'll greet you at the door
And he'll gently lead you by the arm
Through the dark recess of the mines
Oh he'll take you back in time
And he'll tell you of the hardships that were had.

It's a workin' man l am
And I've been down under ground
And I swear to God if ever see the sun
Or for any length of time
I can hold it in my mind
I never again will go down under ground.

It's a workin' man l am
And I've been down under ground
And I swear to God if ever see the sun
Or for any length of time
I can hold it in my mind
I never again will go down under ground.

It's a workin' man l am
And I've been down under ground
And I swear to God if ever see the sun
Or for any length of time
I can hold it in my mind
I never again will go down under ground.

God I never again will go down under ground.



(Transcribed by David Story - July 2013)