Post by debra on Aug 11, 2011 21:44:05 GMT -5
The Ballad of Pigeon Roost Holler
As I was drivin' down the road
To buy groceries at the IGA,
I changed channels on the radio
In time to hear an old man say:
" They shot the top of the mountain off
To get down to the coal."
So I perked up my ears to hear
The words of this poor ol' soul.
He said, "My name's James Weekly,"
And he had a sad story to tell,
And as I listened his voice quivered
Telling the story he knew too well.
They've been blastin' all around me
But I still refuse to sell.
I've been here many years now
Livin' next to this miserable hell.
They've been blastin' off and on now
For several years on end.
Dust burns my eyes and my ears are deaf
And I doubt if I will mend.
The coal company bought off my kinfolk
Paid 'em what they thought was right.
A few thousand dollars for their homes
And run 'em clear out of sight.
But I have stuck to my guns
And I didn't let 'em win
'Cause I'm still here you see.
That rippin' and strippin' sure is a sin.
My great, great grandpa settled here
In Pigeon Roost Holler back in 1834.
He built his home and tilled the land
Way back before the Civil War.
And now I'm a grandpa in my seventies
And they're tryin' to roust me out!
I was born here and I'll die here!
The old man began to shout!
This is my house and darn them
For tryin' to take it all away.
And make flat land out of it.
I thought I'd never see the day!
Just look at all them pictures
My wife hung on the wall.
Now she 's gone, and all I have left
Are memories, and this bitter gall.
Just then one granddaughter's voice
Came over the radio, and she told
Him, " Poppy, I'd literally
Cry if you Sold!"
You and Granny built this house
Together so many years ago.
After spending 48 years together
I sure would hate to see you go.
"Paw, Paw, you're not selling, Right?"
The young girl's voice was sad.
"If Granny was here, you'd never sell!"
Now would you, Grandad?
I am so lonely since she died, he cried,
Just lookin' at these pictures on the wall.
Twenty-nine grandchildren, with 3 more comin',
Thirty-two all in all.
"Oh, Poppy, Poppy,
I'd cry if you sold!"
You've been here so long!
And now you are so old!
You just can't leave
Pigeon Roost Holler
Just because the coal men
Want to make a dollar!
And Poppy replied," Once
I wanted to visit out west but you know,
I'd still have Pigeon Roost on
My mind, where ever I would go."
"You always want to come back
To where your roots are
Where ever you roam
No matter how far."
That ol' Arch Coal Company
Ain't goin' to run me off, no, sir-ee.
Let's seek the EPA on 'em
And that is when we'll really see.
The end of the story is yet to be.
Some people say we need the jobs:
Some people say we need the energy.
But can you just imagine our fine state
All cut off and mashed down flat???
West, by God, Virginia!!!
Can you just imagine that???
-----Debra Lynn Meador Cole
Note: Written today--after drivin' down the highway to the IGA,
listenin' to Public Broadcasting on the radio. ( Does anyone else
listen to it?) The quotation marks in this poem enclose
quotes that I believe to be their true words. I tried to get the gist of it, but actually was driving and trying to remember it all.
Love to have a copy of the broadcast! dlc
As I was drivin' down the road
To buy groceries at the IGA,
I changed channels on the radio
In time to hear an old man say:
" They shot the top of the mountain off
To get down to the coal."
So I perked up my ears to hear
The words of this poor ol' soul.
He said, "My name's James Weekly,"
And he had a sad story to tell,
And as I listened his voice quivered
Telling the story he knew too well.
They've been blastin' all around me
But I still refuse to sell.
I've been here many years now
Livin' next to this miserable hell.
They've been blastin' off and on now
For several years on end.
Dust burns my eyes and my ears are deaf
And I doubt if I will mend.
The coal company bought off my kinfolk
Paid 'em what they thought was right.
A few thousand dollars for their homes
And run 'em clear out of sight.
But I have stuck to my guns
And I didn't let 'em win
'Cause I'm still here you see.
That rippin' and strippin' sure is a sin.
My great, great grandpa settled here
In Pigeon Roost Holler back in 1834.
He built his home and tilled the land
Way back before the Civil War.
And now I'm a grandpa in my seventies
And they're tryin' to roust me out!
I was born here and I'll die here!
The old man began to shout!
This is my house and darn them
For tryin' to take it all away.
And make flat land out of it.
I thought I'd never see the day!
Just look at all them pictures
My wife hung on the wall.
Now she 's gone, and all I have left
Are memories, and this bitter gall.
Just then one granddaughter's voice
Came over the radio, and she told
Him, " Poppy, I'd literally
Cry if you Sold!"
You and Granny built this house
Together so many years ago.
After spending 48 years together
I sure would hate to see you go.
"Paw, Paw, you're not selling, Right?"
The young girl's voice was sad.
"If Granny was here, you'd never sell!"
Now would you, Grandad?
I am so lonely since she died, he cried,
Just lookin' at these pictures on the wall.
Twenty-nine grandchildren, with 3 more comin',
Thirty-two all in all.
"Oh, Poppy, Poppy,
I'd cry if you sold!"
You've been here so long!
And now you are so old!
You just can't leave
Pigeon Roost Holler
Just because the coal men
Want to make a dollar!
And Poppy replied," Once
I wanted to visit out west but you know,
I'd still have Pigeon Roost on
My mind, where ever I would go."
"You always want to come back
To where your roots are
Where ever you roam
No matter how far."
That ol' Arch Coal Company
Ain't goin' to run me off, no, sir-ee.
Let's seek the EPA on 'em
And that is when we'll really see.
The end of the story is yet to be.
Some people say we need the jobs:
Some people say we need the energy.
But can you just imagine our fine state
All cut off and mashed down flat???
West, by God, Virginia!!!
Can you just imagine that???
-----Debra Lynn Meador Cole
Note: Written today--after drivin' down the highway to the IGA,
listenin' to Public Broadcasting on the radio. ( Does anyone else
listen to it?) The quotation marks in this poem enclose
quotes that I believe to be their true words. I tried to get the gist of it, but actually was driving and trying to remember it all.
Love to have a copy of the broadcast! dlc
Have a great weekend. Steve Godfrey