West Virginia Mine Disaster chords by Jean Ritchie

Tuning: Standard (E A D G B E)

E B F# F#m C#m Bm A C

F#m  F#                              Bm         F#
Say, did you see him walking? it was early this morning
F#                             B          F#m
He passed by your house on his way to the coal
F#m                                  B    F#
He was tall, he was slender, and his blue eyes so tender
         A           B                       F#   E  B F#
His occupation was mining, West Virginia his home

F#                E           B           F#
It was just about noon, I was feeding the children
F#               E              B           C#m
Ben Moseley come running for to give us the news
       F#m          E             Bm      F#m
Number eight is all flooded, many men are in danger
       A                B                               F#   E  B
And we don't know their number, but we fear they're all gone

F#                 E          B            F#m
So I picked up the baby and I left all the others
    F#m             E         B            C#m
For to comfort each other and pray for our own
        F#m        F#                B             F#m
There's Tommy, fourteen, and there's John not much younger
               A            B                           F#
Soon their own time will be coming to go down the black hole

E   B   F#m  F#m

F#m                        B               F#m
Now what will I say to his poor little children?
    F#m                       Bm        C#m
And what will I tell his dear mother at home?
    F#m         F#             Bm                 F#m
And what will I say to my poor heart that's clear broken?
      A                  B                 F#        E   B
To My heart that's clear broken if my baby is gone

F#m  F#  E   B

C#  F#  E   B

F#m  F#m  A  B

B  F#   F#m

F#m
Now if I had the money to do more than just feed them
F#m                F#            B             C#m
I'd give them good learning, the best could be found
F#m               E            B            F#m
So when they grew up they'd be checkers and weighers
              A          Bm      B                            F#m
And not spend their life digging in (drawn out) the dark underground

E  Bm  F#m  F#

     F#m             F#              B          F#
Say, did you see him walking? it was early this morning
                  F#           B            C#m
He passed by your house on his way to the coal
       F#m          F#m              Bm           F#m
He was tall, he was slender, and his blue eyes so tender
        A          Bm (Several) B            F#
His occupation was mining, West Virginia his home