Julian was one of the members who brought Kate Rusby to my attention and so I bought Philosophers, Poets & Kings as I was really interested in the last song on the album the haunting Stop the Wagons. Written as a tribute to the 26 children, aged between 7 and 17 than perished in the mining disaster at Huskar Pit in South Yorkshire.
Heavy rain had swollen a nearby river and it started to flood the pit, the steam engine that powered the cage up and down the shaft failed. The children, in panic, ran to the other end of the workings and were trapped by the water and all were drowned, their bodies found with their arms around each other.
The last verse is so apt.
We do not mine for riches
We do not mine for love
But merely to keep the food
on our tables above.
So I'll dry my tear for now
Keep his soul in my heart
And call up the wagons
So the next shift can start.
It was a time when mine owners mourned the loss of a pit pony more than the life of a child. Ponies were expensive to buy. Not been so moved by a piece of music for a long time.