Down in the Coal Mine I am a jovial collier lad As blithe as blithe can be And let the times be good or bad It's all the same to me It's little of the world I know And care less for its ways For where the Dog Star never glows It's there I spend my days Down in the coalmine, underneath the ground Where a gleam of sunshine never can be found Digging up the dusky diamonds all the seasons round Deep down in the coalmine, underneath the ground Me hands are horny, hard and black Through working in the vein And like the clothes upon me back My speech is rough and plain And if I stumble with my tongue I've one excuse to say It's not the collier's heart that's wrong It's his head that goes astray How little do the great ones care Who sit at home secure What hidden dangers collier's dare What hardships they endure The very fire they sit beside To cheer themselves and wives Mayhap was kindled up at cost Of jovial miners lives Then cheer up lads and make the most Of every joy you can And always make your murphy's such As best befits a man For let the times be good or bad We'll still be jovial souls For where would Britain be Without the lads who look for coals recorded by the Ian Campbell Folk Group SOF
Thanks to Mudcat for the Digital Tradition!