Timothy

Listen while you read:  The Buoys

Trapped in a mine that had caved in
And everyone knows the only ones left
Were Joe and me and Tim
When they broke through to pull us free
The only ones left to tell the tale
Were Joe and me

Timothy, Timothy, where on earth did you go?
Timothy, Timothy, God, why don't I know?

Hungry as hell, no food to eat
And Joe said that he would sell his soul
For just a piece of meat
Water enough to drink for two
And Joe said to me, "I'll have a swig
And then there's some for you"

Timothy, Timothy, Joe was looking at you
Timothy, Timothy, God, what did we do?

I must have blacked out just around then
'Cause the very next thing that I could see
Was the light of the day again
My stomach was full as it could be
And nobody ever got around
To finding Timothy

Timothy

~  Rupert Holmes

Ew! Now that you're all stuffed from Thanksgiving, this post will either make you laugh or gross you out. Or both. Watch the video for some fun commentary on the song.

On this day, 109 years ago in 1908, 154 men perished in a coal mine explosion at Marianna PA, near Bethlehem. There was one survivor. Learning of this today, I immediately pulled up the controversial 1971 song, "Timothy," a one-hit wonder by The Buoys. Like everyone else, I was creeped out by the song. In researching it, I was surprised to learn that it was written by Rupert Holmes! Does that name sound familiar? He's the "Pina Colada" guy! What a legacy! You can find "Timothy" on the album titled "The Buoys," named for an otherwise forgettable band.

I do remember the controversy over the song. First, it was a puzzle to figure out. It's not like cannibalism is part of our everyday conversation. So if you paid enough attention to song lyrics, in other words, if you were past the "It has a good beat and you can dance to it" mentality, you smugly pointed out the song's meaning to those who paid less attention. Major "Ew!" response, so bad that the song kept getting banned by radio stations. But then teenagers would phone in to complain, and the song would be back on the air. I think they eventually offered an edited version, which erased any suggestion that cannibalism had occurred. But we knew the truth.

In trying to find information on the coal mine disaster that happened on this date in 1908, I was amazed to find how many mine disasters have littered our history. The Marianna mine eventually landed in the hands of Bethlehem Steel, who ran it until the main conveyor belt caught fire in 1988. They closed it after that. With all due respect to the miners who risk their lives working underground, the Age of Coal has passed its expiration date. The fact that bringing back coal was one of the promises of our current White House occupant just adds to his out-of-touch views as well as his manipulation of certain segments of the population. Coal is not coming back.

Nor is Timothy.