“Our anger built and tightly wound
We walked the coal road through the town
“The store,” I yelled, “We’ll burn it down, Burn it to a cynder!”
As I spoke these words before my eyes
Their doors and windows opened wide
And 10 more miners joined my side
Beaten, starved and angered
We were beaten, starved and angered”– “Company Store”
from ‘Maintenance’
One of my favourite examples of the narrative song, a story of a disenfranchised people who finally fight back against the “company store,” totally bad news. Here’s the tune performed live: