Remember the Miner commemorates the life and death of Bill Davis and symbolizes the importance of workers’ solidarity and organized labour. Davis was a miner from New Waterford who was murdered by a British Empire Steel Company (BESCO) policeman while he was walking towards a riot that occurred during the 1925 miners’ strike. He has become a symbol of the oppression that coalminers in the area once faced and the danger they encountered while working in the mines underground.
Remember The Miner. Performers unknown. John C. O’Donnell Tape Collection. Beaton Institute, Cape Breton University.
Artist
Unknown Singer
Lyrics
Remember The Miner
Words and music by Leon Dubinsky
© Shag Rock Sound.
1. We are the soul of one William Davis;
He gave us his life, now he lies in his grave.
He threw off the chains that held him in bondage;
He said, “I’m a man, and I won’t be your slave!”
Chorus:
Remember the miner; have a thought for the one
Who’s working the backshift while a song’s being sung.
His blood keeps you warm and it burns like the sun.
2. He shines with a light
And he shines like the sun
When the day is the night
And the union is one.
3. We are the soul of one William Davis;
He gave us life, now he is gone.
The strike is for keeps and Bill Davis sleeps,
And the men of the deeps carry on.
Chorus:
Remember the miner; have a thought for the one
Who’s working the backshift while a song’s being sung.
His blood keeps you warm and it burns like the sun.