Unlocked Gate
Lyrics
The trapper-lad from Percy Main
With an inward eye and an outward flame
And a restless soul no books could tame
Rose up from the ground
And he burst forth like an outcast flower
Seizing on his lucky hour
His poetry poured like an endless shower
All nature to expound
Straight from the heart, to the heart
His words more keen than a piercing dart
Of weeping mothers torn apart
Like he was one-way bound
And as the big pit-wheel kept turning
Through his years of toil and learning
He found that he was earning
Freedom from his fate
But by the coal-fires burning
He found his stomach churning
For in his mind he kept returning
Back through life’s unlocked gate
In the dusty books upon the shelves
At the Lit and Phil where a deep mind delves
Into the corners of ourselves
Where no voice can be heard
He buried his head and he set his mask
And struggled to rise up to the task
To advise the borrowers who came to ask
Upon the written word
He returned to the mines until another chance came
But a porter’s work was not the same
So another bridge burned but who could blame
This flightless, restless bird
As the wheels of life kept turning
Through the chances he kept spurning
His heart was ever-yearning
To be back where he might belong
For he’d grown more discerning
On all matters concerning
What keeps the pages turning
Through the circle of life’s song
“I have gazed upon the wonders of mountains and lakes
Marvelled at the design of stars and snowflakes
Delighted in wandering by farms and by streams
Scrambled up hills where sunlight streams
I’ve pondered the mysteries of a life beyond
To many questions I felt the need to respond
I’ve been vocal in social circles but then
Retreated into solitude with my books and my pen”
Onwards now to Shakespeare’s abode
But this humble man bore a heavy load
All the patronage and the favours owed
For a life that did not suit
A poet’s paradise for sure
But for the bores he had to endure
Even the garden held no allure
For one who could not take root
He listened to his inner harp
His gifted mind was shrewd and sharp
His instinct led past cliff and scarp
Not for him the easy route
The carriage wheels kept turning
Towards the home fires burning
And for all his years of learning
He found he had no fear
For the chances he was spurning
Nor the bridges he was burning
The circle had ceased turning
And he was finally happy here
(Gary Miller)
© 2019 Whippet Records
Copyright Control MCPS/PRS
Notes
In 2017, Gary was commissioned by Northern Voices Community Projects to write a song for 'The Pitmen Poet of Percy Main', a book celebrating the life and work of Joseph Skipsey, published to mark the 185th anniversary of his birth in the colliery village of Percy Main on 17th March 1832. The song he wrote was 'A Dream of Joseph Skipsey'.
Since then, Gary has written further songs about Joseph Skipsey, including 'Show Me' and 'Unlocked Gate'.
An EP release of Joseph Skipsey songs was initially tentatively planned, to include all of the above songs, together with a number of Joseph Skipsey's own poems set to music by Gary but since then, Gary's Joseph Skipsey songs have become part of Gary and Helen's 'Northern Grit' collaborative project.
