Get all 13 Under This Cold Sky releases available on Bandcamp and save 20%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Vera (Single), Borealis (Single), A Few Christmas Songs, Up North Demos, Fall 2021 Demos, Summer '97, Covers & Demos, Indian Paintbrush, and 5 more.
1. |
Of Iron & Men
03:25
|
|
||
|
Heavy is the load, heavy is the load
Heavy is the load, heavy is the load
If these rocks could speak, I wouldn't give no time
To tell the stories of the men that worked them iron ore mines
French and Cornish; Finns and Swedes
All speak the same language of the miner's creed
Heavy is the load, heavy is the load
We bust our backs with that old pick axe
In our underground abode
Heavy is the load, heavy is the load
From Marquette down to Cleveland, on she goes
Well I came on up in '88
On a train bound North for the Marquette range
Day after day, down in the ground
With an oil lamp 'till that whistle sounds
I leave my family, I leave my home
For hours on end just to pay my loans
Boss man's waitin' on the union strike
I hope someday he knows just what it's like
|
||||
2. |
|
|||
|
Well Old Bill Burt was a surveyin' man
He come way up North, surveyin' the land
When his compass went crazy near a lake now known as Teal
So he and crew packed up their gear
Headed South for Jackson, and the very next year
Came plans for a mine and hopes of a lucrative deal
At first they set their sights on copper
But soon they saw it wouldn't be proper
When they met Marji-Gesick, the Chippewa Chief
Now Marji-Gesick knew where they needed to go
So he showed 'em straight to the iron honey hole
Soon they set up a forge and began mining the earth beneath
Well there's money to be had in the rust red earth
But we wouldn't have ever found it without Old Bill Burt
Old Burt's solar compass was slick as grease
But he wouldn't have found the ore without the Chippewa Chief
Well the mine up and ran for nigh on eighty years
And then they closed it out of fear
'Cause her yield was scarce and now there were other mines
But we mustn't forget those early days
Put Negaunee on the map, Iron Town, USA
You can still see the ruins of you ever find the time
|
||||
3. |
Cornish Town
02:44
|
|
||
|
My great-great-grandfather was an Englishman and a miner by trade
He worked his life down in the darkness underground
The iron boom was calling in the good old USA
Not quite home, but it became his Cornish Town
Work was hard, time and money were scarce
Sixty hour weeks; six months of cold and snow
But you did what you had to take care of your kin
He gave 'em twenty-five years anyhow
Cornish Town; said he was in line for the British crown
I never knew him but I reckon if he was still around
He'd probably make his home in Cornish Town
Well it's a century later and I'm taking me a drive
Down the old, old streets of Cornish Town
Where foundations of the homes that once stood proud are now grown in
If you listen, you can hear the pick axe sound
|
||||
4. |
Red Earth, Black Sky
02:54
|
|
||
|
Of varied languages and homelands, here their stories all began
A promise of prosperity here in this rugged land
Overseas and over rail lines to the iron mines, Northbound
For their wives and for their families, they labored underground
A mining town called Ishpeming was the end of the line
For the men who went to work at the Barnes and Hecker mine
With helmets on and lanterns burning into the red earth did they descend
From sunup 'til sundown then they'd do it all again
The work was long and labored; rarely did they see the sun
Coming home with weary faces stained red with dirt like rust
Day in, day out they worked the ore to feed the steel mills
Send the cars on down to Marquette through the forests and the hills
On a cold day in November, they journeyed down below
600 feet, still deeper, they had no way to know
When the lake gave way above them, water rushing in the mine
Word got out that fifty-one men were trapped down inside
Here's a hymn to offer up for all the men they lost that day
As together, we remember how their work would pave the way
For the welfare of this place we live and love, and call our home
So here's to those fifty-one lost ninety years ago
|
||||
5. |
Murder in Thunder Bay
03:28
|
|
||
|
Manion was an army lieutenant
In a town fraught with loggers and booze
Laura, his wife went out dancing one night
Came home crying and bruised
She said the bartender was friendly
Offered her a ride home in his car
But he took a wrong turn, took advantage of her
Manion headed straight for the bar
He hadn't even one drop of liquor
When he calmly loaded his gun
To see the look on Quill's face when Manion walked into that place
Pulled the trigger and old Barney was done
There's been a murder in Thunder Bay
That's what all of the local folks say
The best defense in the state couldn't weasel their way into Manion getting off free
Well, the jury's out in Iron City
And the trial will be anything but pretty
And on the front page of every newspaper the next day
There's been a murder in Thunder Bay
Now Biegler was a small town attorney
With more a penchant for trout than for law
But if Manion wasn't sane, how could he hold the blame
A loophole no one else saw
The trial was long and complicated
And the facts were scattered and rare
But to give the court proof was close enough to the truth
Irreparable impulse, the snare
The jury found Manion not guilty
Biegler could collect on his fee
But he found an empty trailer and note upon which Manion wrote:
An irresistible impulse overtook me
|
||||
6. |
Into the Icy Sky
03:16
|
|
||
|
The boys are packing up their skis and headed for the hill
Those crazy Finns from the Cleveland location
Into the icy sky they fly like snowflakes in a storm
With a family name and growing reputation
Lake Placid looming large, the U.S. Ski Team choosing men
Be at your best, boys, this is where it counts
Head against the wind, take a breath and hold it in
Gather up your courage; every single ounce
Fly, boys, fly
Into the icy sky
Riding on the North wind, blowing cold
Over treetops, overhead
Of grit and sisu, honest-bred
Into the icy sky, the story goes
They lost a good man and a brother at St. Paul in '39
Who knew a record for the day would cost so dear?
For three long weeks he fought with tenacity and strength
A story that would live on through the years
|
||||
7. |
Big Two-Hearted River
04:19
|
|
||
|
Cold; as the glacial bedrock architecture carved
Brook and brown in crystal pools near and far
Through swamps and white pines tall as they are old
Cold; Big Two-Hearted River, cold
Slow; the fisherman draws his cigarette in
Northern noonday sun beats heavy on his skin
Warding off mosquitoes with the smoke
Slow; Big Two-Hearted River, slow
Flow; meandering on for many miles more
Inland out toward Lake Michigan's Northern shore
As November gales blow in ice and snow
Flow; Big Two-Hearted River, flow
And from the war he finds a little respite here
Solitude and solace in the desolate, blurry trees
Carry the weight of all the blood-stained, tired, and lonely years
Big Two-Hearted, run forever strong and free
|
||||
Under This Cold Sky Marquette, Michigan
Genre-spanning songwriting shaped by the Upper Peninsula wilderness.
Under This Cold Sky recommends:
Some of the greatest songwriting you'll ever hear. Noah's music has evolved over the years and while I also recommend his newer work (A Pillar of Salt, Lover), I always come back to his early stuff.
go to album
Into the Great Unknown
by Bradford Loomis
If hopping a freight train out West had theme music this would be it. Gritty and powerful. I met Bradford at a house show and seeing him perform "Dead Man's Dance" in a living room was incredible.
go to album
Orion Demos, Lansing
by Frontier Ruckus
Although we hail from very different parts of the state, these guys are able to poetically capture snapshots of Michigan life. Frontman Matthew Milia's obsession with the 90s also takes me back.
go to albumIf you like Under This Cold Sky, you may also like:
Rundgren-esque rock with big hooks and a hint of the baroque, recommended for fans of Jon Brion and post-Kill Rock Stars Elliott Smith.
go to album
Stuck in the Aching Again
by Fur Trader
L.A. singer-songwriter Andrew Pelletier goes full on Gene Clark with some woozy effects on this latest EP.
go to album
This Bay-Area based band offer modern indie songs with intertwining harmonies and searching refrains.
go to album
