Sixteen Tons and Deeper in Debt
Contributors
Fieldworkers
Date
1953
Track ID
7948
Part 1
Track Information
Original Track ID
SA1953.241.A3
Original Tape ID
Summary
Ewan MacColl got this song from Alan Lomax, who got it from Merle Travis. MacColl explains that the song refers to the system where miners were paid in paper scrip that could only be spent in the company's store.
The singer had to work from early childhood and has always owed his soul to the company store.
Item Notes
3 verses with chorus. Recorded at the 3rd People's Festival Ceilidh in Edinburgh in 1953.
Recording Location
County - Midlothian
Parish - Edinburgh
Village/Place - Edinburgh
Language
English
Genre
Collection
Classification
Source Type
Reel to reel
Audio Quality
Good