The Coal By The Sea documents the discovery of coal in Cape Breton and celebrates the opening of the first commerical coal mining operation in North America. Coal that was first mined in 1720 in Port Morien, besides being shipped off to the Boston States, also kept the workforce warm throughout the building of Fortress Louisbourg.

This video recording, produced by Folkus Atlantic in 1996, features a performance by the Men of the Deeps at the Glace Bay Miners’ Museum.

The Coal By The Sea, 1996. The Men of the Deeps/Joan Weeks. FT-59, Beaton Institute, Cape Breton University.

The Cape Breton Coal Miners was written by Ray Holland; it describes the nature of being a coal miner, the satisfaction they gained from their job and their close connection to Cape Breton. He wrote the words to this song to serve as an introduction to the Men of the Deeps at Man and His World – Expo ’67 – and chose the age-old “Villikens And His Dinah” as the tune following their debut performance in Montreal.

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.

The Cape Breton Coal Miners, 1968. The Men of the Deeps. T-062. Beaton Institute, Cape Breton University.

Songs about child labour have never emerged in Canada to the same extent as in the United States and Britain. But until early in this century, young boys were expected to contribute to the family income by following in their fathers’ footsteps. The pattern was the same all over the world: a young boy entered the breaker as a slate picker at the age of eight or nine; a short time later he’d become a ‘trapper boy,’ tending the doors. At fourteen he’d become a mule driver, well on his way to becoming a full-fledged miner.

This is a live recording of Billy, Come With Me, as performed by the Men of the Deeps and from the collection of John C. O’Donnell.

Billy Come With Me. The Men of the Deeps. John C. O’Donnell Tape Collection. Beaton Institute, Cape Breton University.

In 1902, James Bryson McLachlan moved to Canada from Scotland to find work in the coal mines of Glace Bay. Recog­nizing the need for safer working conditions and adequate salaries for coal miners in the area, he formed a local branch of the United Mine Workers and fought for the best interests of these workers. J.B McLachlan’s dedication to fighting for worker’s rights and social justice makes him an important part of Cape Breton’s labour history and the subject of this tribute written and performed here by the legendary Cape Breton singer, Charlie MacKinnon.

This field recording was collected by Ronnie MacEachern in 1978.

The Ballad of J.B. McLachlan. Charlie MacKinnon. T-1067. Beaton Institute, Cape Breton University.

“The dangers of mining are always brought back to us when something tragic happens.”

This poem, about the Westray Mine Disaster, was written by Al Provoe; it is recited here by Jim MacLellan of the Men of the Deeps. On May 9, 1992, a lethal explosion of “dust of coal and cruel methane” occurred at the Westray Mine, Pictou County, taking the lives of 26 miners. It was the worst mining disaster in Canada since the 1958 “Bump” in Springhill, Nova Scotia.

This video recording, produced by Folkus Atlantic in 1996, features a performance by the Men of the Deeps at the Glace Bay Miners’ Museum.

Aftermath, 1996. The Men of the Deeps. FT-59. Beaton Institute, Cape Breton University.