Rob Russell Davies: Listen

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Story:
We go down the deepest mine on earth: Western Deep Levels Gold Mine near Johannesburg / South Africa to share the plight of a trapped miner praying for the sound of his rescuers approaching gumboots.

GUMBOOTS
©Rob Russell Davies 2003Rob Russell Davies 2003

VERSE 1
Well it's dark down here
And it's hot down here
Though I'm cold with fear
Buried deep in the ground
Trapped in mud and slime
Of Western Deep Gold Mine
Running out of time
Crying out for a sound...

Like a tap, or a shout
Or maybe a pick against the wall
The sound of men digging dirt
The beat of the miners' call...

CHORUS 1
I wanna hear gumboots
I wanna hear gumboots
I wanna hear gumboots
Walking my way
I wanna hear comrades
Working together
And when I hear gumboots
I'll know that I'm saved
I'll know that I'm saved.

VERSE 2
Lying all alone
With my fading hope
Mem'ries come and go
And it seems like a dream...
When I'm holding you
By the old statue
On Gumboot avenue
With the legend that reads...

'To the men still below
The many we left down underground
To the souls of the earth
We'll never forget your sound...'

CHORUS 2
We can hear gumboots
We can hear gumboots
We can hear gumboots
Walking our way
When we hear comrades
Working together
And when we hear gumboots
We'll know that we're saved
We'll know that we're saved

MIDDLE
Did I hear it?
Was I dreamin'?
Did I hear a steady tap against the rocks?
And the sound of a chain-gang sing-along
But I knew it
And belived it
When I saw those boots come kicking through the wall...

CHORUS 3
And I can hear gumboots
I can hear gumboots
I can hear gumboots
Walking my way
And now I hear comrades
Working together
And as I hear gumboots
I know that I'm saved
I know that I'm saved

REPEAT CHORUS (3)