This is the story of my Uncle Dave
To the hard life of mining his body he gave
The life of a miner is the life of a slave
Instead of a pension they gave him a grave

In Dave's broken body no more strength could be found
But to rate for his pension, by contract was bound
Dave needed ninety more days underground
So his mates band'd together to lower him down

They raised him up and they lowered him down
For ninety more days of a life underground
For an annual pension of just twenty pound
They raised him up and they lowered him down!

Now prissy Polly on her high horse she sits
With a poison pen writing of the men in the pits
Complaining their pensions they dinnae deserve
In local newspapers they printed her words

Dave's broken body now laid on the floor
All strength had left him and he never breathed more
So his mates drove to Polly and they knocked on her door
Stole her away, off to Davey's they tore

"Here is the miner that you so despise
With his broken old body, on the floor now he lies
Who slaves in your pits and barely survives
'Til he cannae go further and lays down and dies"

"Here is your miner who slaves in the pits
Who you say dinnae deserve the wee pension he gets
Have a good look so you'll never forget
And consider his family from where now you sit!"

With a whole life o' mining and ninety days gane
When he died Davey got not a pence to his name
Life for his family would not be the same
The bosses and Polly's o' the world are to blame

So here's to the miners all the world round
Who slave all the days of their lives underground
And here's to the fight when were not around
To raise you all up and lower you down!

©2002 Victoria Parks