The Ballad of Springhill

Background information: This ballad was penned by Peggy Seeger and Ewan MacColl when Peggy was 24 years old. She was in a French cafe when she saw a live broadcast of the 1958 disaster. This mining disaster was not the only one that happened in Springhill, Novia Scotia, but the third. Other mining disasters happened in 1891, 1956, and 1958 (Novelli, 2018).

Springhill was so full of coal that it was said that people were finding pits of coal in their own backyard. Earthquakes were rather common in that part of Canada, but for miners they were always taken seriously. The ballad tells how an earthquake case the walls of the mine to shift and caused toxic gases to leak into the tunnel. The town began rescue operations right away, but they were only able to save 99 or the 174 miners in the tunnels.

Because of their efforts to save their loved ones, the whole town became the only group to ever receive the Carnegie Medal of Heroism, which is an award that normally goes to an individual only (Noveli, 2018).

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Video recording

Lesson Plans

Idea #1

-Because of the sensitive subject matter of this ballad, it is important to be mindful of how and if you share this ballad with your students.

-Before having students listen to the ballad, explain that many ballads were written to immortalize disasters and tragedies. Often times ballads were used to help spread important news stories. That is the case for this song.

-This is an opportunity to explain that not all folk songs are happy. Songs can be written to express big feelings and emotions.

-After this introduction, go over the story of the Springhill mining disaster. Since the ballad deals with such a tragic story, it is important to prepare students before sharing the ballad with them.

-Have students listen to the ballad. Afterwards, ask them what stood out to them, or what lines or parts caught their attention the most.

Idea #2

-Have students listen to various recordings of this ballad and compare them.

-Three recording that would work well for this are: Peggy Seeger and Ewan MacColl's recording, Peter, Paul, and Mary's recording, and U2's recording.

-This song is a good example to highlight expressive singing as all the above mentioned recordings are very expressive.