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The Colliery [Original 7" Single Version 1987]

from The First Few Drops (1985​-​1989) [Revised Edition] by The Whisky Priests

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lyrics

THE COLLIERY

The pit where I worked was built in Eighteen-Ten
And it's claimed the lives of many good men
Like rats in a hole we crawled underground
Digging for coal at the colliery

I had long shifts to put in every day
And I worked like a slave for a poor man's pay
We hated our boss because he worked us hard
For a pittance to keep our families

And the curse of God was on our lives
Though we prayed to Him for better times
We learned to cry and we learned to die
Down at the colliery

I had a wife and six bairns to feed
We paid the price of a rich man's greed
I sweated and toiled in that unholy black hell
Feeding the fires of Britain's industry

And we found no joy in our toil
As our lungs filled with dust and soot and soil
We laughed and cried we prayed and died
Down at the colliery

Both servants and masters shared the land
They abused our humanity but they used our hands
And they would steal our brains to destroy our souls
But we were put on God's earth to go below it for coal

This land was built by men of steel
But the fires are now dying in its industries
The machines have rusted and the pit stands dead
The men lie idle no more prayers are said

And the curse of God was on our lives
Though we prayed to Him for better times
We learned to cry and we learned to die
Down at the colliery

(Gary Miller)

credits

from The First Few Drops (1985​-​1989) [Revised Edition], released July 22, 2016
Gary Miller - lead vocal, acoustic guitar, mandolin
Glenn Miller - accordion
Michael Stephenson - bass
Bill Bulmer - harmonica
Sticks - drums, percussion
Helen Charlton - banjo
Catherine Topliss - fiddle

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about

Gary Miller Durham, UK

Gary Miller first rose to international prominence with folk-punk/rock pioneers The Whisky Priests (1985-2002), founded with his twin brother Glenn - “the Joe Strummer and Mick Jones of Folk Music". He now performs as a solo artist and with his new band 'Gary Miller's Big Picture' whose debut album is coming soon. ... more

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