Interesting.. my hometown has a song about it now. Pretty nifty.
Let Rogue Valley, my favorite band, from Minneapolis, Minnesota be your guide to the modern ghost town of Centralia, PA
‘Pennsylvania 61
through the very heart for some
where industry has long been gone
looks like any old abandoned town
it looks like any other place
forgotten and left to waste
its residents have long been chased awaysteam rises from the fields
smoke-clouds skim the streets
a fire burns underneath the fallen citythis old mining community
is hotter than the planet mercury
a statuette without a face
disfigured and erasedfour hundred acres all unseen
been burning since 1960
the government gave it up
paid money for all the people to move out
they took their pictures and precious things
their families, their histories
level it all, let nature reclaim this townsmoke rises from the hills
like some kind of poison spell
the mines are smoldering still
after fifty yearsthey’ll burn for a hundred more
hollowing a harrowing core
the coal went when the soul went
the other way down
Pennsylvania 61level it all
don’t look back on Pennsylvania 61’
You can listen to Rogue Valley’s fantastic brand of Americana at their Bandcamp, like them on Facebook, and find out more about their expansive ‘Four Seasons’ albums through their website.
