Miners' Wives (Joe Corrie) We have borne good sons to broken men, Nurtured them on our hungry breast, And given them to our masters when Their day of life was at its best. We have dried their clammy clothes by the fire, Solaced them, tended them, cheered them well, Watched the wheels raising them from the mire, Watched the wheels lowering them to Hell. We have prayed for them in a Godless way. (We never could fathom the ways of God.) We have sung with them on their wedding day, Knowing the journey and the road. We have stood through the naked night to watch The silent wheels that raised the dead. We have gone before to raise the latch And lay the pillow beneath their head. We have done all this for our masters' sake; Did it in rags and did not mind. What more do they want? What more can they take? Unless our eyes and leave us blind. Words by Joe Corrie, tune by Alan Reid Copyright Joe Corrie From The Penguin Book of Scottish Verse, 1970 Recorded by the Battlefield Band XX
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