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The Miners of Old

By Tom Russell

Miners of old were proud and bold

They worked down the pit until they were old

Six shifts in fore, five in back 

They had to go or they got the sack

Heavy boots and banging doors

As they gathered together in threes and fours

You could hear the noise of steel and leather

As they walked along the streets together

While everyone else was still in bed

Their regular walk they had to tread

Through hail and snow wind or rain

One to another would not complain

No canteen or pit-head showers

Working many irregular hours

Down the shaft the cage would rattle

With men herded in like a load of cattle

They walked underground for many a mile

Following each other in single file

Through mud and water they had to go

With the roof above hanging very low

Walking at a steady pace

They eventually arrived at the long coal - face

Their coats they hung upon a beam

Then they crawled to the low coal seam

On hands and knees with struggles and scruffles

Dragging behind them their picks and shovels

For hours and hours they toiled and worked 

Not one man among them ever shrieked

Then at last their shift was done

They were glad to see the moon or sun

Tired and hungry back home they tread

Dirty and wet and ready for bed

Not much money did they get

And no compensation for working wet

No buses or cars to travel in style

They had to walk mile after mile

No modern baths to wash their skin

All they had was a large rusty bin

Scratched and bruised they never grumbled

A meal a bath and to bed they tumbles

Now that this little tale is told

About the miners in day's of old

The miner is still the same today

But in a more mechanical and modern way

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