Yorkshire Boy

from Diary of a Coaltown by Gordon Carter

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lyrics

We came here from Yorkshire I was just a child
We got here in April this town was young and wild
My father had worked in those hellish pits back in Denneby Main
We said goodbye to all we knew and never went back again.

He cut mining props for old Jock Hutton he didn't mind the rain
They broke him in the rigging crew and he loved those logging trains
He learned to climb the wooden spar and hang the block and line
The toughest man I ever knew when he was in his prime.

I worked a while at he Japanese Mill a white kid on the crew
Till the war came and they shipped them out in 1942
I can't forget those sorrowful eyes and the sadness of that time
When the vultures came for what was left and robbed those people blind.

I signed up one August day to fight the German threat
They dropped us in behind the lines went toe to toe with death
We fought on to victory in 1945
When they sent me back to Cumberland I was lucky to be alive.

As I recall I was surprised how everything had changed
Everything that I held dear to me had all been rearranged
The girl I loved she couldn't wait she married some other guy
Even after all these years sometimes its makes me cry.

Looking back 90 years there's few things I regret
I lent my hand and gave my heart to all I could effect
No matter where I hung my hat in duty, toil or rest
Its this old town that holds me close
Its her I love the best.

We came here from Yorkshire I was just a child
We got here in April this town was young and wild.

credits

from Diary of a Coaltown, released June 21, 2008
Gordon Carter - Vocals and Guitar

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Gordon Carter Courtenay, British Columbia

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