Dedicated to the coal miners of Britain..

The miners' strike of 1984–85 was a major industrial action to shut down the British coal industry in an attempt to prevent colliery closures. It was led by Arthur Scargill of the National Union of Mineworkers against the National Coal Board.

In the days when the pubs were full
With an ash tray on every table
When the smoke was like a fog
Casting patterns in the air
When the juke box still played vinyl
And heavy metal bands had poodle perms
When they served chicken in a basket
And beer didn't come in tall glasses
Or glasses with a stem

When working class men 

Came in from the pits
Blackened and bruised

With blisters and scars
When they played dominoes
And tried to forget about their day
The toil in the dark
In those dirty cramped tunnels
Where they sweated
And worked their fingers to the bone

Back in the day
When the pits were the centre
Of many a community
When they gave work to the masses
And sons followed dad's
Followed dad's
Followed dad's
Working hard, back breaking
But they didn't complain
This was their life
This was what put bread on the table
Fed their families, fed their kidsThey were proud
These minning communities
Comrades one and all
Together, never to be broken
But they tried to break them
God knows they tried
But they fought together
The community
On the picket line
Fighting for their future
Standing up to the iron lady
And her Tory government
Who tried to concur and divide

But they were not going to be a push over

Those working men
Those miners
Those heroes
Who stood together as one
The pit men
Those strong, solid working men..

 

It's all gone now

Times have changed
But if you listen carefully
The ghosts are still there...