Come all you colliers who work down the mine
From Scotland to South Wales, from Teesdale to Tyne
I'll sing you a song of the pound-a-week rise
And the men who were fooled by the government's lies
And it's down you go, down below, Jack
Where you never see the sky
And you're working in a dungeon
For a pound-a-week rise
Down in nineteen-sixty, a few years ago
The mineworkers' leaders to Lord Robens did go
Sayin', We work very hard, every day we risk our lives
And we ask you here and now for a pound-a-week rise
And it's down you go, down below, Jack
Where you never see the sky
And you're working in a dungeon
For a pound-a-week rise
And it's up spoke Lord Robens, and he made this decree
When the output rises then with you I will agree
To raise up all your wages and I'll give to you fair pay
For I was once a miner, and I worked hard in my day
And it's down you go, down below, Jack
Where you never see the sky
And you're working in a dungeon
For a pound-a-week rise
So the miners they went home, they worked hard and well
Their lungs they filled with coal dust from the bosom o' hell
The output rose by fifteen, eighteen per cent and more
And when two years had passed and gone it rose above a score
And it's down you go, down below, Jack
Where you never see the sky
And you're working in a dungeon
For a pound-a-week rise
Then the miners they went to get their hard-won prize
To ask Lord Robens for their pound-a-week rise
Robens wouldn't give a pound, he wouldn't give ten bob
He gave them seven-and-six and said, Get back to your job
And it's down you go, down below, Jack
Where you never see the sky
And you're working in a dungeon
For a pound-a-week rise
And it's down you go, down below, Jack
Where you never see the sky
And you're working in a dungeon
For a pound-a-week rise
So come all you colliers, take heed what I say
Don't believe the Coal Board when they say they'll give fair play
They'll tell you to work hard to make the output rise
You get pie in the sky instead of a one-pound rise
credits
from Dawn of the Reds,
released September 14, 2008
Written by Ed Pickford (1963).
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