Coal to Gold

The Men of the Deeps are an iconic musical collaboration that has been a fixture on Cape Breton’s cultural scene for 50 years.


To celebrate this milestone they have just released a new two-disc CD, “Coal to Gold,” that highlights some of their most popular and significant music.
Most of this project’s 30 cuts were first heard on one of the 10 other Men of the Deeps recordings from as far back as 1967 but there are three cuts that were done specifically for this CD.
The final song, “Drill Ye Terriers Drill,” has been featured on three previous recordings but here it showcases a verse from each of the three soloists from those releases.
“Coal to Gold” is about memories, those of the singing miners and the listening public. The songs, many of which are still part of their regular concert repertoire, are the compositions that mean the most to the singers. Some were written by members of the choir, a number are traditional and some came from other sources (including Rita MacNeil, Bruce Gouthro and Allister MacGillivray).
The songs tell the stories of mines and miners: locally (“No. 26 Mine Disaster”); regionally (“The Ballad of Springhill”) and internationally (“Miner’s Memorial Hymn, Sixteen Tons”). There are songs of sadness, joy and levity — in other words, songs of everyday life for the miners and their families and the memories that go with them. And for all those who have ever heard the Men of the Deeps perform, “Coal to Gold” captures those memories.