Lyrics Lydia - Slaid Cleaves

Lydia

Lydie lit a cigarette today
Ancient fumbling fingers in her way
From a forty year old coffee cup she sipped a bit of gin
Closed her eyes and let the memories in
She lives in the old place all alone
Keeps in touch with neighbours by the phone
Grows roses on the graves of her firstborn and his father
And the coal trucks never bother her
Oh Lydie, let him go, the boy is gone
Her mother struggled as she tore him from her arms
Oh Lydia, your tears are heaven’s rain
But she never was the same
A cotton dress and satin shoes
Indian summer sun, dressed in amber hues
Spending time with a coal miner’s son
To an old time fiddle tune
The months went by just like a breeze that year
They wed in June, and by the fall the boy was here
Word come down from Big Stone, there’s a fire in the mine
And eleven men they couldn’t find
Oh Lydie, let him go, the boy is gone
Her mother struggled as she tore him from her arms
Oh Lydia, your tears are heaven’s rain
But she never was the same
She watched them pull him from the hole
The overalls he wore were blackened by the smoke
Lydie twice had had this dream and twice it had come true
And when she saw his father’s boots she knew
Oh Lydie, let him go, the boy is gone
Her mother struggled as she tore him from her arms
Oh Lydia, your tears are heaven’s rain
But she never was the same
Lydie lit a cigarette today
Ancient fumbling fingers in her way
From a forty year old coffee cup she sipped a bit of gin
Closed her eyes and let the memories in