Canary

The call of the ore

Stretched the lengths of the plains

And drew all the men to the iron ore range

And from the windows I would watch

Them gain in white and lose in black

Here in the dark no need to be scared

‘Cause I will be your guiding hand

And in the shafts

When they wouldn’t come back

Cold red faces dressed in black

Their dormant lips had sealed their fate

Without a warning they knew too late

Here in the dark no need to be scared

‘Cause I will be your guiding hand

Scorched throats sang funeral songs

And asked why they had been undone

Until canary like the sun came down, down, down

Into the mines

Now trees and leaves grow through the floors

And in the mines there rots the ore

And for those who never came back

Canary sings for those dressed in black

Here in the dark no need to be scared

‘Cause I will be your guiding hand