Made famous by the Mannin Folk in the 1960s and 70s, the song tells the story of the giant water wheel connected to the Laxey Mines in the Isle of Man. Widely performed and recognised in the Island.
Written and composed by Stuart Slack
When Laxey was a mining village many years ago,
There were 600 miners working under Captain Rowe
The bottom of the mineshaft was below the water line
So they had to build a wheel to pump the water from the mine.
(Chorus) And the Laxey Wheel keeps turning, turning, turning,
In Lady Isabella's memory,
And while the water flows
The Laxey Wheel still goes
And the Laxey river runs down to the sea.
For three quarters of a century there were fortunes lost and found
As miners dug the lead and zinc from underneath the ground,
Then came a great depression in 1929
And the miners drew their wages for the last time at the mine
(Chorus)
It's stood now for a 100 years through wind, snow, rain and drought,
And it will keep on turning till the sands of time run out,
And though the main mine building is no more than a shell
The Wheel still stands majestic in the shadow of Snaefell.
(Chorus)
