Roots Music Report

Credits:

Lyrics

“Breaker Boys”
(Words and Music by Marty Falle and Jonathan Holmberg)
Verse 1
In the dark Pennsylvania sky
Daylight tries it's best to shine
For the Breaker Boys who work the line
Down in the Kingston mine
Verse 2
In the winter of 1899
Life was full of sacrifice
Young boys worked the breaker line
Made to sweat, forced to provide
Breaker Boy Breaker Boy
Hear the Shift-a-whistle blow
Verse 3
The morning shift is about to start
In a mine as cold as the devil's heart
Break that coal as it goes by
Blood on their hands, dust in their eyes
Hands wrapped in rags, they wear no gloves
Patched up clothes with a Mother’s Love
I wish the coal could turn to toys
Enough for each young breaker boy
Solo
Verse 4
Forced down chutes as dark as night
You failed to learn to read and write
Your fingers bled from the anthracite
God help the fools who forced your plight
Verse 5
Your elders are all fast asleep
Dream of riches they would reap
Off the backs of children they employ
On the bended knee of the Breaker Boys
Breaker Boy Breaker Boy
Hear the Shift-a-whistle blow
Working for just FIFTY CENTS a day
Breaker Boy Breaker Boy
The rollers grind mercilessly
These were the life and times of the Breaker Boys
These were the life and times of the Breaker Boys