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Worn-down shacks of labour past, on a hill of broken stone,
Once brought by men to the stamping mills to crush away the gold;
But before it could pass to their sons, the glory left the hole,
The Rawdon Hills once were touched by gold.
The grandsons of the mining men scratch the fields among the trees,
When the gold played out they were all turned out with granite dusted knees;
But at night around the stoves, sometimes the stories still unfold,
How the Rawdon Hills once were touched by gold.
Grandsons of the mining men, you'll see it in your dreams,
Beneath your father's bones still lies the undiscovered seam
Of quartzite in a serpentine vein that marks the greatest yield;
And along the Midland railway, it's still told,
How the Rawdon Hills once were touched by gold.
Eighty years has been and gone since there was color in the hole,
And the care-worn shades of the hard-rock men surround the old Cope lode;
And through the tiny hillside farms, the miner's tales grow old,
The Rawdon Hills once were touched by gold;
The Rawdon Hills once were touched by gold
Recorded by Stan Rogers (Fogarty's Cove, ©1977, Fogarty's Cove Music, Inc).
See more songs by Stan Rogers.
Note: The Rawdon Hills of Nova Scotia are a bit northwest of Halifax. It is said that many years ago the government of Nova Scotia circulated false reports of a gold discovery to get more people to settle in that area.
