Crandall Canyon

It's probably too early for a song like this. It's hard to play with fingers still crossed. But I received an email asking if I could "do something for the spirits and souls at Crandall Canyon, UT". It ain't much, but it's worth the effort, and I appreciate the request. Coming from coal country myself, a tragedy like this really knocks the stuffing out of me.

I tried to make it as simple as a could. Just tell a little story. It could be spruced up some....with some frills added. But it just didn't seem right. So I let it go. First take....shaky voice and unsteady rhythm be damned.

You try not to think too much
work your shift then make it home
scrub the dust from your face and hands
spend a moment or two alone
kiss your wife who always smiles
at the end of your long day
sweep up the kids one in each arm
then get down on the floor to play

You learn to do what your daddy done
that's the way things work 'round here
you learn to look the other way
when things don't look so clear
you watch the back in front of you
the guy behind he's got yours
like soldiers fighting side by side
in all our nation's wars

Crandall Canyon gives and takes away
she'll make a non-believer kneel and pray
but she's got the coal and the final say
on who will make it home today

But when the sky down there it falls
and the pillars go all to hell
and the air crashes in your face
like a ghost who don't see too well
and you finally make it out
then you commence to counting heads
we were short six men this time
and the word it spread and spread

There's many rules to live a life by
like leaving no man behind
for some these may be just words
but here they're intertwined
like stitches in a blouse
or lovers in the dark
so we had to go back down
this ain't no time to disembark

Crandall Canyon gives and takes away
she'll make a non-believer kneel and pray
but she's got the coal and the final say
on who will make it home today

So tonight I lie in pieces
Wondering why I'm still alive
when 3 who went back with me
were not allowed to survive
and 6 men are still below
they're waiting on their friends
to reunite them with the sunshine
and bring them back to life again

Soon the cameras will be packed up
and the lights stowed for the next in line
and we'll be left to our own devices
with nothing left but time
to ponder yet again
life in a mining town
and we'll come to the same conclusion
the one we all know deep deep down
the one we all know deep deep down
the one we all know deep deep down

Crandall Canyon gives and takes away
she'll make a non-believer kneel and pray
but she's got the coal and the final say
on who will make it home today
Crandall Canyon gives and takes away
she'll make a non-believer kneel and pray
but she's got the coal and the final say
on who will make it home today
on who will make it home today
on who will make it home today