Open Pit Mine

{{For|mines which are open pit mines|Open-pit mining}} {{Infobox song | name = Open Pit Mine | cover = | alt = | type = single | artist = George Jones | album = The New Favorites of George Jones | B-side = Geronimo | released = 1962 | format = | recorded = 1962 | studio = | venue = | genre = Country | length = 3:09 | label = United Artists | writer = Delbert T. Gentry | producer = Pappy Daily | prev_title = She Thinks I Still Care | prev_year = 1962 | next_title = A Girl I Used to Know | next_year = 1962 }}

"'''Open Pit Mine'''" is a murder ballad by George Jones. It was composed by Delbert T. Gentry and released as Jones' third single for United Artists in 1962. The song reached top 20 on the country singles chart.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/ten-creepy-country-songs-for-your-halloween-playlist/|title=Ten Creepy Country Songs For Your Halloween Playlist|date=October 26, 2012|magazine=CBS New York}}</ref>

==Background== "Open Pit Mine" is a first person narrative that tells a story of an unnamed Arizona copper miner and his wife Rosie. ''The Phoenix'' magazine characterized the song as a "dark romantic torment", in which miner sings "there was nothing for Rosie that I wouldn't do" and it is her love that inspires him to continue with his dreary work. However, after learning that she has been having an affair, he shoots her and her lover "while their arms were entwined" and buries her body in the open pit mine.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=The State of Music|author=Craig Outhier|magazine=The Phoenix|date=October 1, 2017|url=https://www.phoenixmag.com/2017/10/01/the-state-of-music/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=15 Creepy Country Songs For Your Halloween Party Playlist|date=July 29, 2023|url=https://www.wideopencountry.com/creepy-country-songs/|website=Wide Open Country}}</ref>

The song was atypical for Jones, containing no chorus and sparse, folk-tinged instrumentation. He would recut the song a few years later on the Musicor label.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}

==References== {{reflist}}

Category:1962 singles Category:George Jones songs Category:Year of song missing Category:United Artists Records singles Category:Murder ballads Category:Song recordings produced by Pappy Daily