The Men of the Deeps - coal miners in concert!

 We're all about getting into the local culture!  Here in the northern tip of Cape Breton Island, that has to include the coal mining history, going back to the 1700's.  54 years ago, a men's chorus was formed, they've been together ever since, with many new members coming in and old ones going out .  .  .  .  The only requirement was that you had to be an actual coal miner (active or retired), and could sing.  They are the Men of the Deeps, deeps referring to the mines themselves.  The gentleman in the front row, left, has been with them for 52 of those years.



They are regionally famous, and have performed throughout Canada and the NE USA.  They are going on tour in 2022 after a 2-year hiatus due to covid.  They also have a new CD coming out in September, which we will for sure get, it has most of the songs they sang during this concert.



I'd have to say that they are quite good, and have several soloists among them who sang ballads accompanied by the chorus, keyboard, 2 guitars and drums.  Their voices are old and husky as you might imagine from years in the mine, but they really put their hearts into it.  Their music is a combination of ballads, blues, and poetry.  They sing some original compositions about life in the mines and in mining families, along with some classics and others that were written just for them.  I doubt that you'll ever see them at your concert venues, but if you do, I'd recommend them.  Of course it helps to have a little context (which we are starting to get after being here a couple of months) and understanding of how hard and dangerous the miner's life was, and how they bonded together in tragedy and in life.  As proof, many of them have "blue tattoos".  If you got a cut at the beginning of your shift and couldn't get it attended to before your shift ended, coal dust could embed in the cut and make an actual tattoo that was blue in color!


We invited out friend Paul, who was kind enough to let me use the hoist in his auto repair shop to change the oil on my Touareg TDI.  It takes a special oil and filter which I brought with me, and I don't trust anyone but myself to do it, and certainly not the local VW dealer.

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