NORM WALKER

The Ballad of Alex Ronyk

(words and music by Norman G. Walker - 2009 © SOCAN)

Chorus:
Some say that mining will get in your soul
The blood, sweat and danger, digging for coal
Alex Ronyk knew all this and how
But he’s mining the miners’ pockets now.

Bienfait Saskatchewan, 1921
Alex only 14 years, a Polish miner’s son
Started at the M&S trapping of the doors
Then later loading forty tons a day or even more.

Conditions at the mines and the mining camps were bad
Hunger, cold and danger all they had
The bosses and the owners knew the situation well
They made life above and below a living hell. ... Chorus:

The strike and the massacre of 1931
In home and work and politics, took a toll on everyone
Alex had a plan and around him he could tell
Those miners needed after hours services he’d sell.

He opened up his pool hall in 1935
He ran bootleg and some gambling on the side
He learned to be a barber, with miners’ lives engage
From haircuts and their vices made a wage. ... Chorus:

So Alex lived in Bienfait for most of his life
Exceptin’ for the time he went out west to please his wife
At Kitimat, Tabor, Hillcrest, he worked in the mines
But he went back home to Bienfait to finish his time.

When Alex died and got to heaven, but not by the usual rule
He hustled Peter in a game of pool
But it wasn’t very long before he knew he’d have to go
He said, “Most of my friends are down below”. ... Chorus:

Some say that mining will get in your soul
The blood, sweat and danger, digging for coal
Alex Ronyk knew all this and how
But he’s mining the miners’ pockets now.
Yes he’s mining the miners’ pockets
Mining the angels’ pockets
Mining the devil’s pockets now.

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