Dedicated to the 13 coal miners who lost their lives at the Sago Mine, Tallmansville, West Virginia
acoustic
singersongwriter
Creative Commons license
Commercial uses of this track are NOT allowed
Adaptations of this track are NOT allowed to be shared
You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the artist
Story behind the song
The seed for this song came in early January in the aftermath of the Sago Coal Mine disaster in Tallmansville, West Virginia. I had read where some of the miners had written notes as they lay trapped two miles deep inside the mine. One note read, “Tell all I see them on the other side. It wasn’t bad. I just went to sleep.” A melody line began running through my head shortly after, and by mid-February I just had to try to get something down on paper. I tried to record the song with my own back up harmonies but it just didn't sound right.
I asked Anne Cozean and Marty Ross Vining from SongRamp to add their beautiful voices to the mix. They graciously agreed and I am eternally grateful.
This song is dedicated to the families of the miners that lost their lives in Tallmansville and everywhere.
Lyrics
One by one the breathing’s stopped. My body aches from the way I’m propped.
I’m tired ~ surrender
Tired of making sense of this. Thinking how this deep abyss consumes ~ surrender
Tired of my heart that aches. Ain’t sure why I’m still awake ~ surrender
Never been sure about Jesus Christ, stories of his sacrifice for me ~ surrender
Either way it don’t matter now. Just fall asleep don’t wonder how it can be ~ surrender
If I wake up on the other side ain’t for me to decide ~ surrender
(Dream, dream ~ surrender)
Church bells, ponies, maple trees. Children laughing, summer breeze and light ~ surrender
Snowflakes falling cold and wet. Smell of someone’s cigarette and air ~ surrender
I’ve never felt so full of peace. Waiting for my breath to cease ~ surrender