"The Blantyre Explosion" lyrics - STRAWBS

By Clide's bonnie banks as I sadly did wander
Among the tall... heaps as evening grew high
I spied a fair maiden, a-weeping and wailing
A-weeping and wailing with many a sigh
I stepped up beside her and this I adressed her
'Pray, tell me fair maid, of your trouble and pain'
Sobbing and sighing she sadly did answer
'Johnny Murphy, kind sir, was my true lover's name'
Twenty-one years of age, full of youth and good looking
To work down the mines to high Blantyre he came
The wedding was fixed, all the guests were invited
That calm summer's evening, young Johnny was slain
The explosion was heard, all the women and children
With pale anxious faces made haste to the mine
When the news was made known, the hills rang with their mourning
Three hundred and ten young miners were killed

Mmm...

Now husbands and wives and sweethearts and brothers
That Blantyre explosion they'll never forget
And all you young miners that hear my sad story
Shed a tear for the victims who were laid to their rest.