Gary Miller Songs

The pit where I worked was built in Eighteen-Ten
And it's claimed the lives of many good men
Like rats in a hole we crawled underground
Digging for coal at the colliery

I had long shifts to put in every day
And I worked like a slave for a poor man's pay
We hated our boss because he worked us hard
For a pittance to keep our families

And the curse of God was on our lives
Though we prayed to Him for better times
We learned to cry and we learned to die
Down at the colliery

I had a wife and six bairns to feed
We paid the price of a rich man's greed
I sweated and toiled in that unholy black hell
Feeding the fires of Britain's industry

And we found no joy in our toil
As our lungs filled with dust and soot and soil
We laughed and cried, we prayed and died
Down at the colliery

Both servants and masters shared the land
They abused our humanity but they used our hands
And they would steal our brains to destroy our souls
But we were put on God's earth to go below it for coal

This land was built by men of steel
But the fires are now dying in its industries
The machines have rusted and the pit stands dead
The men lie idle no more prayers are said

And the curse of God was on our lives
Though we prayed to Him for better times
We learned to cry and we learned to die
Down at the colliery

(Gary Miller)

© 1987 Whippet Records

Copyright Control MCPS/PRS

The pit where I worked was built in Eighteen-Ten 

And it's claimed the lives of many good men 

Like rats in a hole we crawled underground 

Digging for coal at the colliery 

I had long shifts to work each day 

And I worked like a slave for a poor man's pay 

We hated our boss because he worked us hard 

For a pittance to keep our families 

And the curse of God was on our lives 

Though we prayed to Him for better times 

We learned to cry and we learned to die 

Down at the colliery 

I had a wife and six bairns to feed 

We paid the price of rich men's greed 

I sweated and toiled in that unholy black hell 

Feeding the fires of Britain's industry 

And we searched for joy in our toil 

As our lungs filled with dust and soot and soil 

We laughed and cried, we prayed and died 

Down at the colliery 

We were servants to masters of the land 

They abused our humanity but they used our hands 

They could own our lives but not our souls 

For we were put on God's earth to go below it for coal 

This land was built by men of steel 

This land once scarred has now been healed 

The pits have gone, time has moved on 

From the days when men toiled where the sun never shone 

And the curse of God was on our lives 

Though we prayed to Him for better times 

We learned to cry and we learned to die 

Down at the colliery 

(Gary Miller)

© 2005 Whippet Records

Copyright Control MCPS/PRS