OAK HILL, WV (WOAY) – A country rock artist releases a new album centered around the UBB mine disaster.
Steve Earle wrote the concept album “Ghosts of West Virginia” to tell the stories of the 29 miners killed in the 2010 explosion. While working on the project, Earle says he learned about the immense pride West Virginia has in its coal miners.
“The song I’m proudest of in some ways is ‘Black Lung,’ because there’s a line in it that sort of sums the whole project up and one of the things that I learned about folks,” said Earle. “The line in the last verse says “If I had never been down in a coal mine, I’d have lived a lot longer. Hell, it ain’t a close call. Then again, I’d have never had anything and half a life is better than nothing at all.””
You can find Earle’s music at steveearle.com and at Walmart.
