Little Pinkie Engine tells the story of a small ‘saddle type’ locomotive shipped from Scotland to the Caledonia colliery in Glace Bay in the middle of the nineteenth century. It was used to haul coal from the mine to the harbour. The song suggests that Little Pinkie became a recognizable symbol of the coal industry in the Glace Bay area.

This version is from a live recording of the Men of the Deeps on March 25, 1968, when they performed with the University Singers at Holy Angels High School auditorium. Francis H. Stevens of the Cape Breton Post reviewed the show the following day saying, “[they] gave vocal evidence of the beginning of a great tradition. There cannot be any doubt about it.” This archival recording can be found on T-062 at The Beaton Institute.

Little Pinkie Engine, 1968. The Men of the Deeps. T-062. Beaton Institute, Cape Breton University.

Written by Mrs. DJ MacDonald, Kelly’s Cove is a Cape Breton union song that looks at the importation of non-unionized surplus labour to do the work of unionized miners in Cape Breton. Kelly’s Cove, located near the foot of Kelly’s Mountain in Cape Breton, is known today as New Campbellton.

This version is from a live recording of the Men of the Deeps on March 25, 1968, when they performed with the University Singers at Holy Angels High School auditorium. Francis H. Stevens of the Cape Breton Post reviewed the show the following day saying, “[they] gave vocal evidence of the beginning of a great tradition. There cannot be any doubt about it.” This archival recording can be found on T-062 at The Beaton Institute.

Kelly’s Cove, 1968. The Men of the Deeps. T-062. Beaton Institute, Cape Breton University.

Jolly Wee Miner Men is a song based on a series of similar traditional mining songs from Ireland and England. It describes the solidarity that existed between miners and demonstrates that their sense of humour, their rich camaraderie and their bravery helped them deal with their dangerous work environment, poverty and forms of oppression that they encountered each day.

This version is from a live recording of the Men of the Deeps on March 25, 1968, when they performed with the University Singers at Holy Angels High School auditorium. Francis H. Stevens of the Cape Breton Post reviewed the show the following day saying, “[they] gave vocal evidence of the beginning of a great tradition. There cannot be any doubt about it.” This archival recording can be found on T-062 at The Beaton Institute.

Jolly Wee Miner Men, 1968. The Men of the Deeps. T-062. Beaton Institute, Cape Breton University.

Written in 1929, this is a Cape Breton workers’ song that protests the importation of non-unionized, surplus labour from Newfoundland during the summer months. They were imported to meet seasonal demands or to fill the gap left by striking workers. These individuals became the target for contempt and ridicule by the local workforce. Although cited as the ‘national anthem’ of Cape Breton workers by both Stuart McCawley and Alphonse MacDonald, this song is rarely sung in Cape Breton today.

This field recording was collected by Ronnie MacEachern in 1978.

The Honest Working Man, 1978. Charlie MacKinnon. T-1067. Beaton Institute, Cape Breton University.

Composed by local coalminer Phil Penney, this song is about the life of George Alfred Beckett. After moving from Newfoundland to work in the coal mines in Glace Bay, Beckett murdered a local taxi driver and fled to Newfoundland soon after. He was arrested in St. John’s and was deported to Cape Breton where he was found guilty of murder. George Alfred Beckett was sentenced to death and was the last man to be publicly hung in Cape Breton.

This field recording was collected by Ronnie MacEachern in 1978.

George Alfred Beckett, 1978. Amby Thomas. T-1066. Beaton Institute, Cape Breton University.

In Coal Town Road, Allister MacGillivray describes life in a Cape Breton coal mining town using information he gathered from stories told by his great-uncle, a former coal miner.

This live recording by the Men of the Deeps features solos by Yogi Muise and Billy McPherson.

Coal Town Road. The Men of the Deeps. John C. O’Donnell Tape Collection. Beaton Institute, Cape Breton University.

Aretired coalminer from Inverness, Archie MacInnis chose the tune of The Flying Cloud, a well-known folk song about piracy and slavery on the high seas, to set the tragic story of his friend and fellow miner, Clarence Fraser. Fraser and MacInnis worked in the Port Hood coal mines.

Coal Mining Days. Archie MacInnis. John C. O’Donnell Tape Collection. Beaton Institute, Cape Breton University.