Come gather ’round friends and I’ll tell you a tale
Of when the red iron ore pits they ran aplenty
But the cardboard filled windows and old men on the benches
Tell you now that the whole town is empty

In the North end of town my own children have grown
While I was raised on the other
In the (bVI) wee hours of youth my mother took sick
And I was brought up by my (bVImaj) brother

Well, the iron ore poured as the years passed the door
The drag lines and th–µ shovels were a-hummin’
‘Til on–µ day my brother failed to come home
The same as my father before him

Well a long winter’s wait from the window I watched
My friends they couldn’t-a been kinder
My schooling was cut as I quit in the spring
To marry John Thomas a miner

The years passed again and the gettin’ was good
With the lunch bucket filled every season
But with three babies born the work was cut down
To a half a day’s shift with no reason

So the shaft was soon shut and more work was cut
The fire in the air it felt frozen
And a man come to speak and he said in one week
That number eleven was closin’

They’re complainin’ in the East they’re payin’ too high
They say that your ore ain’t worth diggin’
That it’s much cheaper down in the South American towns
Where the miners work almost for nothin’

So the minin’ gates locked and the red iron rotted
The room it smelled heavy from drinkin’
And a sad silent song made the hour twice as long
As I waited for the sun to go sinkin’

Well I lived by the window as he talked to himself
This silence of tongues it was buildin’
‘Til one morning’s wake the bed it was bare
And I was left alone with three children

Now the summer’s gone and the ground’s turning cold
The stores one by one they’re all foldin’
My children will go as soon they grow
For there ain’t nothin’ here now to hold them

[1m] Come gather ’round friends and I’ll [^b7] tell you a tale
Of when the [^b3] red iron ore [5] pits they ran a-[1m]-plenty
But the [^b7] cardboard filled [^b3] windows and old [^b7] men on the benches
Tell you [1m] now that the [5m] whole town is [1m] empty

[1m] In the North end of town my own [^b7] children have grown
While [^b3] I was [^b7] raised on the [1m] other
In the (bVI) wee hours of [^b3] youth my [^b7] mother took sick
And [4m] I was brought [5m] up by my (bVImaj) brother

Well, the iron ore poured as the years passed the door
The drag lines and th–µ shovels were a-hummin’
‘Til on–µ day my brother failed to come home
The same as my father before him

Well a long winter’s wait from the window I watched
My friends they couldn’t-a been kinder
My schooling was cut as I quit in the spring
To marry John Thomas a miner

The years passed again and the gettin’ was good
With the lunch bucket filled every season
But with three babies born the work was cut down
To a half a day’s shift with no reason

So the shaft was soon shut and more work was cut
The fire in the air it felt frozen
And a man come to speak and he said in one week
That number eleven was closin’

They’re complainin’ in the East they’re payin’ too high
They say that your ore ain’t worth diggin’
That it’s much cheaper down in the South American towns
Where the miners work almost for nothin’

So the minin’ gates locked and the red iron rotted
The room it smelled heavy from drinkin’
And a sad silent song made the hour twice as long
As I waited for the sun to go sinkin’

Well I lived by the window as he talked to himself
This silence of tongues it was buildin’
‘Til one morning’s wake the bed it was bare
And I was left alone with three children

Now the summer’s gone and the ground’s turning cold
The stores one by one they’re all foldin’
My children will go as soon they grow
For there ain’t nothin’ here now to hold them