Corb Lund tips his hat during Fire Aid for Fort McMurray concert in Edmonton on Wednesday, June 29, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Amber Bracken

Corb Lund tips his hat during Fire Aid for Fort McMurray concert in Edmonton on Wednesday, June 29, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Amber Bracken

Alberta country stars band together on song opposing Rockies coal mining

This Is My Prairie, features country luminaries including Brett Kissel, Terri Clark and Paul Brandt

Alberta country singer Corb Lund has banded together with a few musical friends to re-release a 12-year-old song with a new focus on the possibility of open-pit coal mining in his beloved Rocky Mountains.

The song, This Is My Prairie, features Alberta country luminaries including Brett Kissel, Terri Clark and Paul Brandt and others in a new version that Lund hopes will become an anthem of opposition to the proposed developments.

Lund says the song was first written as a story about a rancher trying to preserve countryside.

He now says the lyrics match word for word with the fight many Alberta ranchers have launched against mining development.

He says it was easy to convince other singers to join him in the release — the proceeds of which will be donated to local groups concerned about coal mining.

The Alberta government is currently waiting to hear recommendations from a panel that’s been canvassing Albertans to see how, or if, they want that type of development.

—The Canadian Press

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