Draglines
Draglines
I grew up in Johnstown, PA, in the beautiful Appalachian Allegheny Mountains of Western, PA. By the time I was a young adult, strip mining had come to my part of the country. Draglines are the giant shovels used to gouge away the ancient rolling mountaintops. Nowadays, it’s fracking that is wrecking a similar devastation across the mountains and the people who call those mountains home.
Draglines at my heart, they’re tearing us apart
And the mountainside where we were born
Must I weep and mourn for the land
It took ten million years to form
Now all my eyes can see are just the bleeding scars
Across the mountainside
Across the mountainside
Coalport, PA just a little town
Tucked too far away for anyone to know
But the folks born and raised
For six generations
Working day by day
Trying to keep themselves a home
Draglines…
Our neighbors down the road they farmed twelve acres
Worked a heavy load
Poor as dirt thought they tried
Till the coal company came through
Said, “We’ll mine the land, take the burden off of you
And we’ll see that you get by.”
Draglines…
First they tore down their home where their grandma
And all the kids were born
Just brushed it all away
Then came the big machines
Ripped up the trees and muddied all the streams
While the family stood and cried
Draglines at my heart they’re tearing us apart
And the mountainside where we were born
Oh take warning that the storm clouds will come
And block out the sun
That shines upon the folks who seek their fortunes off
The families who have died
Trying to survive
Across the mountainside