That line "I knew every holler, every cool swimming hole" is so nostalgic to a certain group of people who grew up exploring Appalachia as often as they could. Those mountains raised people in a way the just doesn't happen in other places, and you can't understand if you didn't learn about the world by jumping into glassy snowmelt water, catching salamanders (I know better now) and river fish and letting them go, wondering how there could be so much magic and mystery in the world and how it can just go one and on into the distance, one mountain after another. So much sorrow echoing across those hills, but so much more beautiful because of that. There's no place like it. This song is about a sad truth of exploitated labor, but it's also an expression of supreme pride. The humans are a temporary problem, but the mountain is your first and last home, no matter how far away you travel. I'll be seeing the Blue Ridge behind my eyelids when I die.
I think Benjamin managed to balance perfectly a respectful tribute to Steve Earle and still make it his own. The fact that both are equally moving yet SO different is amazing.
That line,"The ghosts in the tunnels, that the company sealed." always haunts me. I live in east Tennessee next to few different old mining towns. My grandfather worked in one of them back when there were two major mining accidents close to each other. One being the Fraterville mining disaster. In which practically the whole town of men were killed in the mine, was really no men left in the town after it happened. And now if you go up there, the entrance is of course sealed. And there is something in the air around these areas. And you just kind of think about all the lives that were lost and souls that were trapped in the mountain. You can even read some of their letters that some of them wrote to their families while they were waiting to be rescued. With such sentiments as,"Oh God for one more breath. Ellen remember me as long as you live. Goodbye darling." I believe there were only 3 adult males left in the town after all was said and done. 216 miners died and only 89 of the bodies were recovered.
Words...is what Steve does....if it isn't humorous, moving, sad, sly, cocky, reflective, historical, or uplifting...it is probably not a Steve Earle song.
@@xkguy Yeah, I've been a Steve Earle fan my whole life. My dad introduced me to him when I was a kid and he was my first concert as a kid too. :) My first show was Steve Earle and John Prine together at the Bijou Theater here in Knoxville, TN. Was really the time in which I fell in love with music and have been involved in music ever since then. Be it playing or listening or now helping manage a label.
My grandpa started working in the mines when he was 13, right after his dad died. Worked there until he retired and paid his union dues until the day he left this earth. I think of him every time I hear this song
God bless our coal miners ! I’ve been a W.Va. Underground coal miner almost 25 years , and yes I’ve seen a lot of sadness and grief , but I still pick up my dinner bucket and do it every day for my family ! And , I am the fourth generation of my family to do so , as I said , God bless our coal miners !
@@coolrecorderguy4206 without the coal that coal mines and coal miners provided would we have won World War 2? It is adolescent to demonize those who provide for their families, save the world and provide the niceties that you yourself hold dear.
My only older brother(I have 7 bros.) Joe who passed away at age 49(13 yrs ago) had a lot of influence on my musical taste. One of his favorites was Mr. Earle. Thanks to Joe I have been listening to Steve since the beginning of his career. I saw The Mountain tour before it fell apart when Del McCoury quit because he thought Steve's stage presence was hurting his image. Anyway I'm glad they made this album together, it's my #2 of Steve's albums. #1 would be Train' A Comin'...... r.i.p. Joe and thanks for all the music Steve.
To my father a mountain man, and a coal miner..may you be serving god from his side....... Steve SAYS it all, I remember the mornings when you got home all black from the dust, and I remember your tears when you lost your brothers in the mines of West Virginia....... BUT most of all your love of a song..... so DAD this song is for you...and your friends...... GOD KNOWS my love for you, and my sorrow that you are gone.............
Here in Germany they close the Coalmining in 2018, after 150 Years.....good guys lost their jobs....and some their life. Here in Germany we say " Glück Auf " when we go in the mountain.... "Glück Auf" ⚒
Ginger Goodwin was a local martyr in a coal town named Cumberland, on Vancouver Island BC in Western Canada. He fought and organized for better conditions and pay in the Dunsmiur mines where people kept getting sick and dying in explosions. Despite having black lung by his early 20's, he was considered fit for military service, and conscripted for the Great War. He hid in the woods to avoid being drafted, and was murdered by the RCMP who hunted him down and shot him in the back. The town of Cumberland reenacts his funeral procession every year. Much respect to all miners.
Love you Steve, from WV coal country. You certainly have this hillbilly's seal of approval. Love Devil Put The Coal In The Ground too. You inspired me to make music, and now I play three instruments. Thanks Steve. Bless you brother.
I was born on this mountain a long time ago Before they knocked down the timber and strip-mined the coal When you rose in the mornin' before it was light To go down in that dark hole and come back up at night I was born on this mountain, this mountain's my home And, she holds me and keeps me from worry and woe Well, they took everything that she gave, now they're gone But i'll die on this mountain, this mountain's my home I was young on this mountain but now I am old And i knew every holler, every cool swimmin' hole 'til one night I lay down and woke up to find That my childhood was over and i went down in the mine I was born on this mountain, this mountain's my home And, she holds me and keeps me from worry and woe Well, they took everything that she gave, now they're gone But i'll die on this mountain, this mountain's my home There's a hole in this mountain and it's dark and it's deep And god only knows all the secrets it keeps There's a chill in the air only miners can feel There're ghosts in the tunnels that the company sealed I was born on this mountain, this mountain's my home And, she holds me and keeps me from worry and woe Well, they took everything that she gave, now they're gone But i'll die on this mountain, this mountain's my home
This is Utah coal country where I am from. My brother in law worked 42 years 3 miles underground on the fire/demolition crew. ALL my high school buddies decided this would be what they saw everyday.
God bless Steve Earle,part of my family lost water on their land due to strip mining,after 2 long years ,the Company had to pay and water was restored,on white oak Creek Rd, outside of London Kentucky,water is back but family against family wounds will never heal
I saw this on BBC3 ages and ages ago and i came straight on here to find it, at last its been uploaded. Amazing song but an amazing version of this song, the voice, the lyrics, the sentiment, perfect.
it's sad that this man is as great of a singer song writer will not get the credit he is due till he is gone . but I know what he is now and words can't describe
@@susanholly5923 That is a traditional song, not Steve's. There are many recordings out there, but I have never found the full version by Steve. I am pretty sure it was never released.
Has to be my favorite Steve Earle song, and i would really love to get a full version of Wayfaring Stranger he sings in The World Made Straight movie, it is the best version i ever heard in my life
In Illinois we might be at the beginning of the plains but in working on a facebook page about labor monuments and memorials in the state I learned a lot more about the widespread culture of coal mining here, (the entire state lies over coal) and it follows we have the site of more than one largest disaster of its time, from Cherry in the north to Panama in the south, and the final resting places of John L. Lewis and Mother Mary Jones. And every word of the song rings true, mountain or plain, and Steve Earles emotion can always bring tears. and resolve. IF YOU HAVE A BOSS YOU NEED A UNION
His best song of many. Says always played that song for late great Townes Van Zandt after the song. Van Zandt's "My Proud Mountains" a GREAT song, as well. Possibly Steve's inspiration to write this one, would say.
Simply beautiful. I am not a coal miner. I live in a city. But this song has touched me from the first time I heard it. Steve is one of the greatest songwriters ever.
The mine made headline news when six miners were trapped by a collapse in August 2007. Ten days later, three rescue workers were killed by a subsequent collapse. The six miners were later declared dead and their bodies were never recovered.
The Lost Dog cover was how I got here as well and I am a subscriber to Lost Dog but did go to see Steve Earle way back when. Great song, sad song and sadder now that I’ve looked up the whole story. From coal country NS Canada.
re:mountain. I çry.I cry.I will be 62 come March.ALL of US had those years that Were OUR Familys,and Great Grand Parents.MY Lake,my Beautiful lake Waramaug, taken for 37 $ debt in depression. Other Side,with the Pinnacle, held out longer.but N.Ykrs got June Rd too.Our Life times as kids on thru were my Best Truest Memories that will die in my Heart,as should be,I guess.But,it was MY FAULT,days kept Slipping,Partying more important. I HATE Myself for NOT Putting a FOOT DOWN. Chief Waramaug, his Buriel Ground?if I çould Drive there.I wish had car.all of us have our Crosses.Lynn Fitzpatrick 12-7-17
You haven't really heard this song till you've heard the cover by Benjamin Tod. I gotta give credit to Earle for writing it but the Benjamin Tod version just packs so much more emotion and feeling, honestly one of the best blue grass songs ever.
That line "I knew every holler, every cool swimming hole" is so nostalgic to a certain group of people who grew up exploring Appalachia as often as they could. Those mountains raised people in a way the just doesn't happen in other places, and you can't understand if you didn't learn about the world by jumping into glassy snowmelt water, catching salamanders (I know better now) and river fish and letting them go, wondering how there could be so much magic and mystery in the world and how it can just go one and on into the distance, one mountain after another. So much sorrow echoing across those hills, but so much more beautiful because of that. There's no place like it.
This song is about a sad truth of exploitated labor, but it's also an expression of supreme pride. The humans are a temporary problem, but the mountain is your first and last home, no matter how far away you travel. I'll be seeing the Blue Ridge behind my eyelids when I die.
Thank you for this....
Look up the Lost Dog Street Band cover of this it's beautiful
That cover is amazing. They are my new favorite band for sure
That cover is how I got here
I think Benjamin managed to balance perfectly a respectful tribute to Steve Earle and still make it his own. The fact that both are equally moving yet SO different is amazing.
thats actually how i got here. their version is better
When Ben sings this song, he makes it seem timeless.
When he sings it, you feel the story in your soul, and the pain in your heart.
As a Welshman this song resonates with my fellow Cymru . x
That line,"The ghosts in the tunnels, that the company sealed." always haunts me. I live in east Tennessee next to few different old mining towns. My grandfather worked in one of them back when there were two major mining accidents close to each other. One being the Fraterville mining disaster. In which practically the whole town of men were killed in the mine, was really no men left in the town after it happened. And now if you go up there, the entrance is of course sealed. And there is something in the air around these areas. And you just kind of think about all the lives that were lost and souls that were trapped in the mountain. You can even read some of their letters that some of them wrote to their families while they were waiting to be rescued. With such sentiments as,"Oh God for one more breath. Ellen remember me as long as you live. Goodbye darling."
I believe there were only 3 adult males left in the town after all was said and done. 216 miners died and only 89 of the bodies were recovered.
I am sorry
Words...is what Steve does....if it isn't humorous, moving, sad, sly, cocky, reflective, historical, or uplifting...it is probably not a Steve Earle song.
I can't believe I've never heard of the Fraterville tragedy before. I've been reading about it since I read your comment 15 minutes ago.
@@xkguy Yeah, I've been a Steve Earle fan my whole life. My dad introduced me to him when I was a kid and he was my first concert as a kid too. :) My first show was Steve Earle and John Prine together at the Bijou Theater here in Knoxville, TN. Was really the time in which I fell in love with music and have been involved in music ever since then. Be it playing or listening or now helping manage a label.
@@LucidDream
Me at 7: COPPERHEAD ROOOOOOAD!
Other kids: What's a copperhead?
Me at 24: COPPERHEAD ROOOOOAD!
Other kids: Y uu r E d ne Ck!
My grandpa started working in the mines when he was 13, right after his dad died. Worked there until he retired and paid his union dues until the day he left this earth. I think of him every time I hear this song
God bless our coal miners ! I’ve been a W.Va. Underground coal miner almost 25 years , and yes I’ve seen a lot of sadness and grief , but I still pick up my dinner bucket and do it every day for my family ! And , I am the fourth generation of my family to do so , as I said , God bless our coal miners !
Glück Auf....⚒
anywhere in wyoming county?
West Virginia Hellbilly I think this song is about how problematic coal mining is environmentally and socially..
@@coolrecorderguy4206 without the coal that coal mines and coal miners provided would we have won World War 2? It is adolescent to demonize those who provide for their families, save the world and provide the niceties that you yourself hold dear.
My only older brother(I have 7 bros.) Joe who passed away at age 49(13 yrs ago) had a lot of influence on my musical taste. One of his favorites was Mr. Earle. Thanks to Joe I have been listening to Steve since the beginning of his career. I saw The Mountain tour before it fell apart when Del McCoury quit because he thought Steve's stage presence was hurting his image. Anyway I'm glad they made this album together, it's my #2 of Steve's albums. #1 would be Train' A Comin'...... r.i.p. Joe and thanks for all the music Steve.
rolling, Joe still hears the music. Just from another place.
Appreciate the perspective this song has on other ppl.
@@princessofhesse l
@@princessofhesse you have a good heart
I bet he was a great brother!!
Best version ever. I almost cried.
The line where his childhood was over, he went down into a mine…man. That hit like a ton of bricks. I have a 6 year old son.
To my father a mountain man, and a coal miner..may you be serving god from his side....... Steve SAYS it all, I remember the mornings when you got home all black from the dust, and I remember your tears when you lost your brothers in the mines of West Virginia....... BUT most of all your love of a song..... so DAD this song is for you...and your friends...... GOD KNOWS my love for you, and my sorrow that you are gone.............
Thank you brother, your comments are heartfelt and appreciated !
Here in Germany they close the Coalmining in 2018, after 150 Years.....good guys lost their jobs....and some their life.
Here in Germany we say " Glück Auf " when we go in the mountain....
"Glück Auf" ⚒
@@Truckertotti Did the coal mines there destroy lives the mountains and waterways like the ones steve earl is singing about?
Ginger Goodwin was a local martyr in a coal town named Cumberland, on Vancouver Island BC in Western Canada. He fought and organized for better conditions and pay in the Dunsmiur mines where people kept getting sick and dying in explosions. Despite having black lung by his early 20's, he was considered fit for military service, and conscripted for the Great War. He hid in the woods to avoid being drafted, and was murdered by the RCMP who hunted him down and shot him in the back. The town of Cumberland reenacts his funeral procession every year. Much respect to all miners.
Wow I'll have to look him up!
This is amazing, Steve Earle and Tom Morello together! Two of my all time favourites.
he doesnt play tho
If you gotta boss, you need a union! Solidarity Steve!✊
Amen!
When your union boss gave you 1$ more per hour and att the same time gave the company the rights to rape the country.
@@magnustrygg5632 the government did that bud
Dr. J. Fever
Well Mr Dr. J: i can’t say. Im a Swede. I tell you how things were over here.
@@magnustrygg5632 weird that unions have a say over your government on the environment
You sing about the mountain and the coal just the way my retired coal miner uncles talk about the mountain and the coal in West Virginia.
My Dad gave 16 years in the Martinka mine Colfax, WV
Cords to the mountain
Love you Steve, from WV coal country. You certainly have this hillbilly's seal of approval. Love Devil Put The Coal In The Ground too. You inspired me to make music, and now I play three instruments. Thanks Steve. Bless you brother.
What could be more beautiful?! Amazing voice, song, performance, etc...
A great story teller makes you live the song ..
Brilliant - so moving.
Steve is one of those artists who just keeps getting better and better . Thx man.
His depth continues to shake me
I love the rough edge Steve's songs have with one of the most unique voices in the world.
I live in the beautiful state WV, this song is so true to so many here.
stan burd Charleston area here
I was born on this mountain a long time ago
Before they knocked down the timber and strip-mined the coal
When you rose in the mornin' before it was light
To go down in that dark hole and come back up at night
I was born on this mountain, this mountain's my home
And, she holds me and keeps me from worry and woe
Well, they took everything that she gave, now they're gone
But i'll die on this mountain, this mountain's my home
I was young on this mountain but now I am old
And i knew every holler, every cool swimmin' hole
'til one night I lay down and woke up to find
That my childhood was over and i went down in the mine
I was born on this mountain, this mountain's my home
And, she holds me and keeps me from worry and woe
Well, they took everything that she gave, now they're gone
But i'll die on this mountain, this mountain's my home
There's a hole in this mountain and it's dark and it's deep
And god only knows all the secrets it keeps
There's a chill in the air only miners can feel
There're ghosts in the tunnels that the company sealed
I was born on this mountain, this mountain's my home
And, she holds me and keeps me from worry and woe
Well, they took everything that she gave, now they're gone
But i'll die on this mountain, this mountain's my home
Its cool seeing an older, grey bearded Steve Earle doing his stuff as a wiser more mature songwriter.
Now, That's a song writer...
This is Utah coal country where I am from. My brother in law worked 42 years 3 miles underground on the fire/demolition crew. ALL my high school buddies decided this would be what they saw everyday.
One of my favourite songs....
+Paula Dickson one of mine too!
God bless Steve Earle,part of my family lost water on their land due to strip mining,after 2 long years ,the Company had to pay and water was restored,on white oak Creek Rd, outside of London Kentucky,water is back but family against family wounds will never heal
I saw this on BBC3 ages and ages ago and i came straight on here to find it, at last its been uploaded.
Amazing song but an amazing version of this song, the voice, the lyrics, the sentiment, perfect.
Beautiful
Wow! So soulful .... playing along with my fiddle. Thanks!
??
Artistic folklore and haunting arrangement.
Tom morello playing with Steve earl couldn’t make my heart happier.
Most beautiful tune ever
it's sad that this man is as great of a singer song writer will not get the credit he is due till he is gone . but I know what he is now and words can't describe
Where can I find the song that Steve does in the movie, the world made straight. Song's title is poor wayfaring stranger
@@susanholly5923 That is a traditional song, not Steve's. There are many recordings out there, but I have never found the full version by Steve. I am pretty sure it was never released.
I like that black dodge but I like that HARLEY RUMBLING SOUND
Saw him and the Del McCoury band tour. All played in "the round". One microphone with all the musicians gathered around it. Best show I've ever seen.
AGREED,WHEN A SOLO WAS REQUIRED, THE PLAYER WOULD MOVE NEARER THE MIC, LOW TECH AND BRILLIANT
Thanks for sharing. Steve's song The Mountain is one of my absolute favorites.
Has to be my favorite Steve Earle song, and i would really love to get a full version of Wayfaring Stranger he sings in The World Made Straight movie, it is the best version i ever heard in my life
Sam have you been a fan for long? I have been tagging along since the early 80s, but I am old as Steve!
Joanna Backman
Oh yeah i've been listening since the 80's, i'm 46 now and i've always loved Steve Earle
I might have that actually. Maybe. I know the song but not the movie. Is that Tom morello?
love it
Fantastic sound!! I love him!
Love this Steve Earle song..
Love ur music Glad to see ur still out there !
Absolute gold.
In Illinois we might be at the beginning of the plains but in working on a facebook page about labor monuments and memorials in the state I learned a lot more about the widespread culture of coal mining here, (the entire state lies over coal) and it follows we have the site of more than one largest disaster of its time, from Cherry in the north to Panama in the south, and the final resting places of John L. Lewis and Mother Mary Jones. And every word of the song rings true, mountain or plain, and Steve Earles emotion can always bring tears. and resolve. IF YOU HAVE A BOSS YOU NEED A UNION
Beautiful.
Wow, beautiful, thanks for sharing the upload
"There is no higher love, than Steve Earle" ♫
favorite truly
Me too Mr. Earl...I love your music💖
His best song of many. Says always played that song for late great Townes Van Zandt after the song. Van Zandt's "My Proud Mountains" a GREAT song, as well. Possibly Steve's inspiration to write this one, would say.
Amen my brother....if you've got a boss you need a union!
Unions don’t do shit for anyone! They’re a waste of time effort and energy today!
Simply beautiful. I am not a coal miner. I live in a city. But this song has touched me from the first time I heard it. Steve is one of the greatest songwriters ever.
"You got a boss.....you need a union."
One of my favorites. Seen him do this with the .Mastersons
So cool tom morello chilling there too
Brilliant !
I played this for my daughter and she got chills from this performance with tears in her eyes she said WOW Mama Thanks Steve. Love and Peace
Wonderful--Union!!
Powerful.
IWW forever~
Such a heavy song, hard to beat.
Yes sir Steve Earle...you sing truth💔💖❣
I saw Steve play in Flagstaff once upon a time. I hope he comes back some day!
LDSB Brought Me Here.
Riches Hill on earth! Butte. Not coal but copper. Great song love this song, love this state.
I'm with you guy.Butte America brother.
Saw him 3x for the mountain album ❤️💋
When music was music heart and soul
Like I say..it’s raw
Great song awsame. Artist
Never realized how much Trampled By Turtles "Blue Sky and the Devil" sounds like this.
on this mountain. ..Steve Earle.
The mine made headline news when six miners were trapped by a collapse in August 2007. Ten days later, three rescue workers were killed by a subsequent collapse. The six miners were later declared dead and their bodies were never recovered.
So surprised to see Tom Morello here. I don’t know Steve’s music but have been a Morello fan since Audioslave days. Awesome.
Their politics brought them together
I miss our times Stevie. See you one day
I wanna go bacccckkkk to Philmont!!!
Steve has to have some Irish blood running thru those veins... Blue grass has it's roots in the old Irish settler's music...
The Lost Dog cover was how I got here as well and I am a subscriber to Lost Dog but did go to see Steve Earle way back when. Great song, sad song and sadder now that I’ve looked up the whole story. From coal country NS Canada.
thanks for the tip. will check it out later at home,
they don't make em like this anymore
Hey Steve! sorry to hear about bassist Kelly Looney-May her Rock in Peace! Anyway the mountain is a great song!!
Levin helm does a great version of this song.
I am here Just because of Martyr Made! Couldn't find this version on Spotify!
Who's America…
local 175 Ky. Carpenters
wow the Levon Helm version was a cover? what? I love this song.
Check out Benjamin Todd's version, and also Sierra Ferrell (both brilliant for different reasons)
re:mountain. I çry.I cry.I will be 62 come March.ALL of US had those years that Were OUR Familys,and Great Grand Parents.MY Lake,my Beautiful lake Waramaug, taken for 37 $ debt in depression. Other Side,with the Pinnacle, held out longer.but N.Ykrs got June Rd too.Our Life times as kids on thru were my Best Truest Memories that will die in my Heart,as should be,I guess.But,it was MY FAULT,days kept Slipping,Partying more important. I HATE Myself for NOT Putting a FOOT DOWN. Chief Waramaug, his Buriel Ground?if I çould Drive there.I wish had car.all of us have our Crosses.Lynn Fitzpatrick 12-7-17
cause there is no need brother listen to Steve bro
If there was a god he/she would make sunshine only needed, and no human exploitation as perceived honor
Benjamin Todd rps this song to pieces
cause mate, steve is just so Gang ster all by him self they don't need to lol
I heard this over a decade ago, and think about it frequently. I think I just might post a tribute cover.
Fr
where can i find a full version of him singin wayfaring stranger??
Can't find his version of The Wayfaring Stranger :(
damn I thought he was gonna shoot me for requesting this at the Variety in Atlanta right after he left Del McCroury
I
Great song Steve. Is that Tom Morello?
You haven't really heard this song till you've heard the cover by Benjamin Tod. I gotta give credit to Earle for writing it but the Benjamin Tod version just packs so much more emotion and feeling, honestly one of the best blue grass songs ever.
Tods version is okay. The studio version with Del McCoury is the best version.
No comparison. Steve's version is far superior!
I.U.O.E. Local 542 PA
You got a boss...you need a union.
He slipped it in lol
Benjamin Tod did a great cover of this song.
Hi Tom! How's R.A.T.M. doing? 😊
:')
why dont the other 2 play?
It is a songwriter gig -- they are taking turns doing their own songs songs, not really performing together. They did do a couple together.
what other two
what other two,if you let me know I will try and re upload
PeterBrock Fan no worries my bad
Perhaps - coz', it's kinda' a protest song?