capo 3
Verse
[G]Take a trip with me in [D]1913 [G]
To [C]Calumet, Michigan, in the [D]copper [G]country.
I'll take you to a place called [C]EYE talian [G]Hall
Where the [G]miners
[G]are having their [D]big Christmas [G]ball. [C] [G]
Verse
[G]I'll take you indoor, a [D]nd [G]up a high stair.
Th [C]ere's singin' and dancin', [D]it's he [G]ard everywhere,
I'll let you shake hands with the [C]people you [G]see
And watch… [G]
[G]the kids dance [D]round the big Christmas [G]tree.
Verse
[G]There's singin' and [D]dancin' [G]and songs in the air,
[C]An' the spirit of Christmas [D]is there [G]everywhere,
Before you know, you're friends [C]with us [G]all
And you're [G]dancin'
[G]around and around [D]in the [G]hall.
Verse
[G]You ask about work and you ask [D]about [G]pay;
[C]They'll tell you they make less than a [D]dollar a [G]day,
Just workin' the copper claims, [C]riskin' their [G]lives,
So it's [G]fun
[G]to spend Christmas with ch [D]ildren and wiv [G]es.
Verse
[G]A little girl sits by the Christmas [D]tree [G]lights
To [C]play piano, she gotta keep [D]quiet. [G]
To hear all this fun you would [C]not [G]realize
That the [G]copper
[G]-boss thug-men are [D]millin' [G]outside.
Verse
[G]The copper-thugs stuck their heads through [D]the [G]door
[C]One of them yelled and he screamed, [D]"There's a [G]fire!"
A lady, she hollered, "There's [C]no such a [G]thing!
Keep [G]on
[G]with your party, [D]there's no such [G]thing."
Verse
[G]A few people rushed, and it's only [D]a [G]few.
[C]"It's just the scabs and the [D]thugs foolin' [G]you."
A man grabbed his daughter and he [C]carried her [G]down,
But the [G]thugs
[G]held the door and he [D]could not get [G]out.
Verse
[G]And then others followed, a hundred [D]or [G]more,
Bu [C]t most everybody remained on [D]the [G]floor.
The scabs and the thugs they still [C]laughed at their [G]joke,
And the [G]children
[G]were smothered on the [D]stairs by the [G]door.
Verse
[G]Such a terrible sight I never [D]did [G]see,
[C]We carried our children back up to [D]their [G]tree.
The scabs and the thugs they still [C]laughed at their [G]spree,
And the [G]children
[G]that died there were [D]seventy- [G]three.
Verse
[G]The piano played a slow [D]funeral [G]tune,
[C]But the town was lit up by a [D]cold Christmas [G]moon,
The parents they weep and the [C]miners they [G]moan,
"See [G]
[G]what your greed [D]for money has [G]done."
Outro
[G] [D] [G] [C] [D]