Something for the weekend: Corb Lund and friends “This Is My Prairie”

Well that’s it for us for another week dear reader – tonight we will be in Manchester at their lovely Folk Festival seeing Harbottle and Jonas do their thing. Do join us if you can. We leave you with the new video for the song ‘This Is My Prairie’ by Corb Lund which has been re-recorded with the help of other Alberta based country artists including Brett Kissel, Terri Clark, Sherryl Sewepagaham, Paul Brandt, Armond Duck Chief, Katie Rox and Brandi Sidoryk (Nice Horse). The re-release has come about from widespread local opposition to proposed new coal mining in the Rockies. Recently the summits and foothills of Alberta’s Rocky Mountains have been leased along a vast stretch of their range for coal exploration and a series of companies have announced plans for open-pit mines.

“They can drill, they can mine, over my smouldering bones,” the song’s opening lines go. “This is my Prairie, this is my home.” Lund himself has been vocal in his opposition to the mines, speaking out on both social media and in news interviews. His concern centres not just on the mining’s impact on the area’s beauty, but its effect on water supplies and contamination in this particularly dry region of the country. And of course the wider issues of continued coal exploration are global in their impact – which means we should all be thankful that songs like this are still being written. Have a good one.