Bal Maiden

One glance from the southern sky and a spark falls, she passes by

Waking from the creeping dawn

From the background of our valley torn

Our maiden leaves a bed of stone

Two hungry mouths to feed at home

In a ruffled dress, in a bodies bound

All tarnished boots, they weigh her down

Come in close and I’ll tell to you

Let those sweet notes rise and run me through

She’s a figure on a winding road

She’s a face that fears no heavy load

She walks a path where those can run

She pounds her week for thirty tonnes

Come in close and I’ll tell to you

Let those sweet notes rise and run me through

In the half laid of the sunken shaft

The rumbling of a deeper blast

Those steady stampers one by one

They draw the chambers and block the sun

Come in close and I’ll tell to you

Let those sweet notes rise and run me through

A last long leap, a crooked climb

As she’s summoned from the steam and grime

To a fading sun, a paler sky

A pale window to her bloodshot eyes

Come in close and I’ll tell to you

Let those sweet notes rise and run me through

Growing old with no repair

Her task and toll go undeclared

Bal Maiden, now your works run dry

Sweet widow from the deepest mine