Fields of home

This week’s Pickin’ & Grinnin’ In The Kitchen Spot features The Dream Of The Miner’s Child. A song I grew up hearing-and assuming it was written by someone from the Coal Mines of Appalachia. Actually it’s an old English Ballad. The song never caught on in England-but once it was introduced to the coal mining camps in the USA it spread like wild fire.

The song tells the story of a little girl, whose dream foretells a mining accident. As her father is leaving for the mines, she cries out for him to stay home-because dreams have so often come true.

I’ve never had a dream that predicted the future-but two foretelling dreams come to mind-both about my Papaw.

The first:

Throughout my Papaw’s long illness he wanted to be at home. We took turns staying with him doing what we could to comfort him. Several times during the months preceding his death we thought his departure was imminent-and the whole family gathered to his bedside-but somehow he would last beyond what we thought were his final minutes.

He died one morning at about 10:30-Pap’s Sister, one of his Brothers, a niece, and I were there-everyone else was at work or school. Pap’s younger brother worked close by and arrived quickly. Pap drove an oil truck-who knew where in our large county he was. I couldn’t bear thinking that we were gathered together-but he would get the news of his father’s death from someone working in a gas station-however,that isn’t exactly what happened. A few days after Papaw’s funeral Pap shared his experience with us.

Several nights before Papaw died, Pap dreamed he could see his father in a gulf of water-kind of like there were sides with the gulf between them. Papaw was in the water with his arms reached high into the air. The morning Papaw died, Pap was working in the lower part of our county in an area called Hiawassee Dam. Pap said as he drove across the dam, seeing the water, he realized that was his dream and his father had passed away-when Pap arrived at the next station-they confirmed it for him. Pap said even though the events were strange-the dream was a comfort to him.

The second dream occurred after Papaw had been dead many years:

Lee called Pap one evening, he wanted to tell Pap about a dream he had-a dream he couldn’t get off his mind. Lee is a local preacher and has been a friend of our family as long as I can remember.

In his dream-he was preaching-standing on the front steps of a white farm house that he could not recall being at before. The old house was surrounded by corn fields and the yard was full of people listening to his sermon. Lee noticed someone coming across one of the fields at a fast pace-it was Papaw. Lee said Papaw walked straight through the crowd and came right up on the steps and said “Lee there’s a storm coming and it’s at the second railroad trestle” then Papaw turned and went back the way he had come.

Lee wanted Pap to help him discern if the dream meant anything-like the profound dreams in the Bible. Lee said he just couldn’t quit thinking of the dream-couldn’t quit seeing Papaw’s piercing eyes looking into his. At the time-I thought of all kinds of things that might fit the “coming storm”. Now, looking back, the storm that came to our family was one I could never have foreseen.

Listen to this great old song-and see if it jogs your memory about any “foretelling dreams” you’ve had or know about.

Hope you enjoyed the Dream of the Miner’s Child-and don’t forget to leave me a comment about your dreams.

Tipper

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22 Comments

  1. Tipper: What an interesting story about dreams. I don’t have any that fit into this thought.
    I enjoyed the show in the kitchen with their neat song. Thanks so much for sharing.

  2. I just wanted to let you know that I came here to listen to the tune…had it running in the background while I was reading a book. Good posts, good music! Thanks! 🙂

  3. Never really had any dreams of foretelling, premonitions have always come to me while I was awake, or just waking up. Like the day our Mom passed. I awoke seeing her running across a field, she had not been able to run for years, and I knew she was gone. Got the call not long afterwards.
    Love the stories about your family. I think I’ve said before that I would have liked to sit and talk to your Papaw.
    Thanks to Pap and Paul for that great song. Paul made my day with the ‘spider fretting’ as you know that’s my favorite. My toes were just tapping even though the song was kinda sad. xxoo

  4. Afternoon, Tipper! It’s always fascinating to hear people talk about what they thought was a sign or a portent. I never experienced it, but have friends who have told me some hair raising
    stories. Thank you for sharing, Tipper! :))

  5. I don’t have ‘foretelling’ dreams, but I have begun to (infrequently) have dreams which I know are from God. At first, they’ll not make sense to me, but I’ll have a feeling it was a spiritual dream rather than a late night pizza dream. 😉 When that occurrs, I pray and ask God for the interpretation. Sometimes it comes quickly, and sometimes, it’s taken weeks for the answer to come. Oddly enough, after I understand the ‘message’ of the dream, I tend to forget the actual dream. I’ve begun writing them down, though.
    I do remember one. It’s one I know God was using to convey a message to me, but I didn’t pay heed to it. I think it may have been the first one He gave me.
    My family was eating dinner. We were happily enjoying the meal. My youngest was still at home; my daughter, who was probably about 10 or 12. We were eating at a picnic table outside the house. The house, yard, and surroundings were all strange, but in the dream, it was our home. There was a garage or shed building adjacent to where we were eating. Perched on top of that building was a HUGE tiger, larger than normal even. The entire time we were eating, talking and laughing, we were completely oblivious to the tiger. We knew he was there, and could see how ferocious he looked, but we were unafraid, as if we didn’t realize the potential for harm that existed.
    The dream left me very unsettled. Within not too great a time afterwards, after seeking God about it, He revealed to me that the tiger was our television. We allowed that threat of danger in our home, even ‘invited’ it, all the while oblivious to the potential harm it was bringing on our family.
    It’s not to say, no one should have tv’s (we have one, still), but I think God was trying to tell me how damaging it was to my young daughter. Her views and thoughts were being more affected by the things she saw on tv than what we were trying to teach and set before her. As I said, I didn’t heed that warning, and later regreted it.

  6. Ah our “family” knows prophetic dreams and visions very well. We have learned to tell which ones are God-dreams, and are learning to build one another up in being obedient to the dreams and visions that asks something of us.
    Good post.

  7. When I was 9 years old, I was in bed but not yet asleep. I looked up from the bed and saw my great-grandfather, Earl, standing in the corner. He raised his hand in a slow wave and gave me a little smile. I smiled back and he faded away.
    The next day we found out he has passed in the night. I, to this day, do not think I was dreaming. If I was, it was a foretelling. I do think it was Earl stopping by for a last goodbye.

  8. Tipper,
    I enjoyed your story and do believe that sometimes our dreams bode of things to come.
    When I turned 18, I began having a reoccuring dream. A truck was coming around a bend in a road that looked familiar to me. The truck went off the road, rolled over and the driver was killed. However, the identity of the driver wasn’t clear.
    All winter, spring and summer, this dream haunted me, occuring at intervals of a couple times a week. Then, on August 1st, we got news that my uncle, who was like a brother to me, was in an accident. He died later that day in hospital. I never had the dream again.
    Over the years, I have had many of these dreams. For three years I dreamed that I could see my father’s hands folded on his chest as he lay in his coffin. After he died, I never had the dream again.
    I think this is God’s way of allowing me to prepare for times of sorrow. I never have the dreams when someone is sick and dying, only when the death is unexpected.
    Enjoyed visiting with you. Going now to read the previous post. I’m behind again.
    Blessings,
    Mary
    PS. I have a memory posted that you might enjoy. Please drop by.

  9. I have very vivid dreams and most of the time I can recall them, but so far as I know I’ve had no foretelling dreams.
    And, like the rest, I want to hear ‘the rest of the story’.
    Helen

  10. Yes, I have. Too long to go into here.
    Great post!
    I think I have heard that song before done by Pap and Paul.
    I’m just as curious as you to know what the storm is or was.

  11. Wonderful post and comments! Both my parents had dreams about their fathers’ deaths.
    My dad was woken in the middle of the night one evening (not sure where he was–West Virginia or Georgia) and rose up out of his bed, almost not of his own accord, and found himself at the foot of his bed. Looking out the window, he could see a large clock tower with the time–He discovered the next day that this was the exact time his father had died.
    My mom had an unusual experience that was sort of dream, but very real. Sometime in the night, she awoke (in Arizona) and had this sense about her dad, and smelled a very strong rose perfume smell. Her dad had just died, she later found out. She went to Michigan for the funeral, and going back to her parents’ house, she went into her dad’s room and there was the exact same rose perfume smell.

  12. I can’t think of meaningful dreams I’ve had, but I really enjoyed reading these stories and will be paying more attention from now on.
    My dad has learned a lot by keeping track of the songs (often hymns) that are on his mind when he first wakes up in the morning.

  13. I don’t know if she had foretelling dreams, but one grandma did know about unexpected things that had happened before being told. Kind of a forewarning.
    It wasn’t a dream, but I knew when my grandpa died–was just minding my business brushing my teeth for bed, then suddenly started crying uncontrollably. And I just knew.
    It was okay, though, because I also knew where I would see him (and all my other grandparents!) again.
    I think Rick is right–we fill ourselves with so much noise, and striving for silly things, that we can’t hear God.

  14. Great topic. I tend to believe that most of our dreams are our minds way of processing our daily life occurrences, in dream language, of course. It’s the dream language that makes it so strange to us.
    I also believe that some of our dreams are prophetic. The future is out there and sometimes we connect with it.
    When the Deer hunter was small my father was in the hospital, very sick. He got better and was discharged. A week or so later I got up one morning with this really bad feeling that someone was going to call me and tell me my father was dead. That feeling stayed with me all day. When the Songwriter came home from work that afternoon I told him about my premonition. He said that was ridiculous and for me to stop—like I could!
    I fixed supper and as we sat eating the phone rang. I didn’t want to answer it. I new it was about my dad. It was, he had been in a serious automobile accident and taken to the hospital. He was moved then to a bigger hospital after a three month stay there with much time in ICU and doctors from five different specialty areas he spent months in Rehab Hospital and months in a nursing home then finally released. But in the process of all this something had happened to my dad’s mind, he was never the same. My dad was gone.
    I’ve had dreams several times in my life that were followed in the next few days by some occurrence that completed the dream. I don’t at the moment remember an exact example.
    I know these things happen and they are real, we just have to pay attention to see them.

  15. I don’t often remember dreams, but I often find myself somewhere, and say, or think, gee– I’ve been here before..
    It is usually a certain view, I remember seeing the view of my side yard out the kitchen window of my current home 40 years ago! When I finally saw if that way for real, I thought, funny, I guess I knew I was coming this way all along.
    I also often know when someone will phone me, or, I will call them and they will say, “I was just thinking of you.” I guess I’m just sensitive that way.
    Thanks for the interesting story

  16. I’ve never had any foretelling dreams, but know a lot of people that have. The ones you told about were very interesting. . .and I’m waiting to hear ‘the rest of the story’!

  17. Quite a few years before their birth in a previous marriage;I dreamed of having twins. It did happen as my dreamed foretold, even that they were a boy and a girl. Sometimes now when any of the kids are going through something,I will have premonitions of some sort.

  18. We can probably never fully understand how the mind works. Why would one dream in allegory and then have to try to understand the inference. Why doesn’t the mind just dream straight-up?
    I’ll never forget this dream: I was a young married, two young kids, I was happy … we we’re happy. The plant where I was working put me on the third shift, just out of the blue … I’d always been on the day shift but now I was on midnights. On top of that, I had no contact at work on 3rd because I was in a laboratory, by myself, doing chemical analyses. I was salaried and had not much say in how I was assigned. Oh, I could complain, or I could beseech my bosses to get me off nights, and I did beseech them but they ignored me.
    I began to have this odd dream. Looking back, the meaning of its allegory is clear but at the time it was a just an inexplicable, terrifying nightmare.
    In my dream,
    Some armed Nazis would seize me from my yard every evening. I would struggle but resistance was futile. The Nazis would slide me feet first into this very tightly confining horizontal cylinder and close both ends. And there I was kept, with no way to escape, every night. And, no one could help me.
    This nightmare went on for weeks. I didn’t know what it meant. And, it was scary … not surreal … it was real.
    I finally quit that job and went into the insurance business. Not being a big fan of insurance and not being a very good cold-call salesman, I liked to starved us to death.
    But I didn’t have the nightmare anymore. No more nightly imprisonment in solitary confinement.

  19. Thanks, Tipper, I always enjoy the music. I have to admit, you left us hanging. The only dream of significance I’ve had was of my losing my husband (as in he had left me or I couldn’t find him.) I woke with such a grief it was unbearable and I couldn’t share the dream with anyone for fear it would come true. Then three years ago, I did lose him to cancer. I never want to have a dream like that again.

  20. Tipper what a great story. I’ve never really had dreams like that.But seems like our
    grandparents did.I believe the reason is NO TV they had a quiter life. Maybe they could hear God a little easier with no background noise.I miss my Grandparents.

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