in the winter of 62/63

Ramsbottom Bickerdyke and co

went up to the icy wastes

upon Bleath Gill

like crows to the pecking

to set the locomotives free

 

from their cotton white beds

jammed right in

those belly fires burnt right out

all in a dream of compacted snow

Ramsbottom Bickerdyke and co.

 

Yorkshiremen under leathery sky

hacked away with blistering breath

then when the wheels and cranks

showed their teeth

fires were lit right underneath

until the oil began to flow

Ramsbottom Bickerdyke and co.

 

When they were perfectly satisfied

they leaned on shovels

lit cigarettes

made light of life

while flakes of whiteness

gently taunted their tidy show

Ramsbottom Bickerdyke and co.