Les Corons

The Mining Towns

Les Corons

Up north, it was the mining townsAu nord, c'étaient les corons
The land was coalLa terre c'était le charbon
The sky was the horizonLe ciel c'était l'horizon
The men were deep minersLes hommes des mineurs de fond

Our windows faced similar windowsNos fenêtres donnaient sur des fenêtres semblables
And the rain wet my school bagEt la pluie mouillait mon cartable
But my father, coming home, had eyes so blueMais mon père en rentrant avait les yeux si bleus
That I thought I saw the blue skyQue je croyais voir le ciel bleu
I studied my lessons, cheek against his armJ'apprenais mes leçons, la joue contre son bras
I believe he was proud of meJe crois qu'il était fier de moi
He was as generous as those from the regionIl était généreux comme ceux du pays
And I owe him what I amEt je lui dois ce que je suis

Up north, it was the mining townsAu nord, c'étaient les corons
The land was coalLa terre c'était le charbon
The sky was the horizonLe ciel c'était l'horizon
The men were deep minersLes hommes des mineurs de fond

And it was my childhood, and it was happyEt c'était mon enfance, et elle était heureuse
In the steam of the washersDans la buée des lessiveuses
And I had slag heaps instead of mountainsEt j'avais des terrils à défaut de montagnes
From the top, I saw the countrysideD'en haut je voyais la campagne
My father was a black face like his parents wereMon père était gueule noire comme l'étaient ses parents
My mother had white hairMa mère avait les cheveux blancs
They were from the pit, as one is from a countryIls étaient de la fosse, comme on est d'un pays
Thanks to them, I know who I amGrâce à eux je sais qui je suis

Up north, it was the mining townsAu nord, c'étaient les corons
The land was coalLa terre c'était le charbon
The sky was the horizonLe ciel c'était l'horizon
The men were deep minersLes hommes des mineurs de fond

At the town hall on the day of the fairY avait à la mairie le jour de la kermesse
A photo of Jean JaurèsUne photo de Jean Jaurès
And each glass of wine was a pink diamondEt chaque verre de vin était un diamant rose
Set against a backdrop of silicosisPosé sur fond de silicose
They talked about '36 and the firedamp explosionsIls parlaient de 36 et des coups de grisou
About accidents in the depths of the pitDes accidents du fond du trou
They loved their job as one loves a countryIls aimaient leur métier comme on aime un pays
It's with them that I understoodC'est avec eux que j'ai compris

Up north, it was the mining townsAu nord, c'étaient les corons
The land was coalLa terre c'était le charbon
The sky was the horizonLe ciel c'était l'horizon
The men were deep minersLes hommes des mineurs de fond
The sky was the horizonLe ciel c'était l'horizon
The men were deep minersLes hommes des mineurs de fond