About the Song
"Boomtown for Undertakers" draws inspiration from the pioneering spirit of Beryl Markham, whose memoir "West with the Night" chronicles her extraordinary life as an aviator in colonial Kenya.
The song captures the essence of night flights across the African landscape, where pilots risked their lives delivering vital supplies to remote mining communities. Like Markham's own flights, these journeys required courage, skill, and an intimate knowledge of the land below.
Through evocative imagery of warm night air, missing maps, and the urgent mission to save lives, the song pays homage to the unsung heroes who navigated by stars and instinct in aviation's golden age.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Greg Rank promoted this song as a powerful metaphor for the healthcare crisis. The lyrics "Another miner is down / Bringing him some oxygen" and "Miners keep on dying but replacements keep arriving" resonated deeply with the shortage of ventilators and personal protective equipment that left healthcare workers vulnerable. As of July 28, 2020, at least 1842 healthcare workers globally, and 342 in the US, died due to the virus, many due to inadequate access to PPE. The song's haunting refrain "Boomtown for Undertakers" became a sobering reflection on how supply shortages turned hospitals into places where death thrived more than healing.
Read more about PPE shortages and healthcare worker deaths during the pandemic
