They stand so proud, the wheels so still
A ghost-like figure on the hill
It seems so strange there is no sound
Now there are no men underground
What will become of this pit yard?
Where men once trampled faces hard
So tired and weary their shift's done
Never having seen the sun
There'll always be a happy hour
For those with money, jobs and power
They'll never realise the hurt
They cause to men they treat like dirt
Will it become a sacred ground?
Foreign tourists gazing round
Asking if men once worked here
Way beneath this pit-head gear
Empty trucks once filled with coal
Lined up like men on the dole
Will they ever be used again?
Or left for scrap just like the men?
There'll always be a happy hour
For those with money, jobs and power
They'll never realise the hurt
They cause to men they treat like dirt
A ghost-like figure on the hill
It seems so strange there is no sound
Now there are no men underground
What will become of this pit yard?
Where men once trampled faces hard
So tired and weary their shift's done
Never having seen the sun
There'll always be a happy hour
For those with money, jobs and power
They'll never realise the hurt
They cause to men they treat like dirt
Will it become a sacred ground?
Foreign tourists gazing round
Asking if men once worked here
Way beneath this pit-head gear
Empty trucks once filled with coal
Lined up like men on the dole
Will they ever be used again?
Or left for scrap just like the men?
There'll always be a happy hour
For those with money, jobs and power
They'll never realise the hurt
They cause to men they treat like dirt
Contributed by DoNQuijote82 & Bernart Bartleby - 2012/3/20 - 10:10
Language: English
It stands so proud, the wheel so still
a ghostlike figure on the hill
it seems so strange there is no sound
now there are no men underground
what will become of this pit-yard
where men once trampled, faces hard
tired and weary, their shift done
never having seen the sun
will it become a sacred ground
foreign tourists gazing round?
asking if there once worked here
way beneath the pit-head gear
empty trucks once filled with coal
lined up like men on the dole
will they ever he used again
or left for scrap just like the men?
there'll always be a happy hour
for those with money, jobs and power
they'll never realise the hurt
they cause to men they treat like dirt
a ghostlike figure on the hill
it seems so strange there is no sound
now there are no men underground
what will become of this pit-yard
where men once trampled, faces hard
tired and weary, their shift done
never having seen the sun
will it become a sacred ground
foreign tourists gazing round?
asking if there once worked here
way beneath the pit-head gear
empty trucks once filled with coal
lined up like men on the dole
will they ever he used again
or left for scrap just like the men?
there'll always be a happy hour
for those with money, jobs and power
they'll never realise the hurt
they cause to men they treat like dirt
Contributed by Dq82 - 2022/5/13 - 10:30
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Parole di Kay Sutcliffe
Musica di Paul Abrahams
Interpretata da The Watersons, ossia Norma Waterson insieme ai suoi familiari (Lal, Mike e Rachel) e Martin Carthy, in un concerto del 1987.
In seguito inclusa in un’antologia di Carthy intitolata “The Carthy Chronicles” (2001)
I Watersons l’hanno poi a loro volta inclusa in un’antologia in 4 CD intitolata “Mighty River of Song” che hanno fatto uscire nell’aprile del 2013… E con prodigioso tempismo: proprio in occasione della dipartita dal mondo di Margaret Thatcher!
“Carbone (Lavoro) non (sussidio di) disoccupazione” fu scritta da Kay Sutcliffe, moglie di un minatore del Kent, all’epoca del grande sciopero dei minatori inglesi che li vide duramente contrapposti al governo dell’“Iron Lady” Margaret Thatcher.
“Coal Not Dole” era uno slogan che compariva scritto un po’ ovunque sui muri durante quel lungo e durissimo sciopero, contrassegnato dalle violenze della polizia e dalla morte di diverse persone, due manifestanti, un tassista che aveva trasportato un crumiro e tre ragazzini che morirono andando nei pozzi chiusi per raccogliere pezzi di carbone e scaldare le proprie case d’inverno.
Interpretata dai Chumbawamba
Performed by Chumbawamba
[1989]
Album: "English Rebel Songs 1381-1914"
The Cutty Wren - The Diggers' Song [Levellers and Diggers] - The Colliers March - The Triumph Of General Ludd - Chartists Anthem - Song on the Times - Smashing Of The Van - The World Turned Upside Down [Digger's Song] - Poverty Knock - Idris Strike Song - Hanging On The Old Barbed Wire
Nel 2003 i Chumbawamba hanno ripubblicato l'album aggiungendo alcune canzoni con il titolo ''English Rebel Songs 1381–1984'':
The Bad Squires - Coal Not Dole