According to an interview with the singer aired on CBC Radio 3, this song is about the singer's grandfather who worked in a coal mine in Glace Bay, Cape Breton Island (Nova Scotia) at the turn of the twentieth century. Working up to 70 to 80 hours a week under horrible conditions with no safety standards for incredibly low wages, miners had to pay back most of their wages to the company for their rent, food and clothing. The story goes that in the 1920s a group of miners got together in opposition to the company in protest and burned down the store. In response, the company basically held them over a barrel with wages until the union got strong enough that they could fight back and organize to the point where they got decent wages and decent working conditions. But it took 30-40 years for that to happen.
The song's message is applicable for today and resonates with audiences seeking to make the world a better place through strength in numbers.
According to an interview with the singer aired on CBC Radio 3, this song is about the singer's grandfather who worked in a coal mine in Glace Bay, Cape Breton Island (Nova Scotia) at the turn of the twentieth century. Working up to 70 to 80 hours a week under horrible conditions with no safety standards for incredibly low wages, miners had to pay back most of their wages to the company for their rent, food and clothing. The story goes that in the 1920s a group of miners got together in opposition to the company in protest and burned down the store. In response, the company basically held them over a barrel with wages until the union got strong enough that they could fight back and organize to the point where they got decent wages and decent working conditions. But it took 30-40 years for that to happen.
The song's message is applicable for today and resonates with audiences seeking to make the world a better place through strength in numbers.