AT DAWDON PIT

by Dave Mountford

On this night at Dawdon Welfare
Kenny Henderson said:
Tak heart all me canny colliery lads
The pit is far from dead.
He showed us slides upon a screen
An' gav his point of view
Of how to reach the North Sea coal
And the things that we would do.

Thor was questions asked about the pit:
How lang could we survive?
Ten years he said we'd in reserve
But the sea-coal would keep us alive.
Then at ten to nine men got itchy feet,
They gav Ken Henderson a cheer -- a big cheer
Then they queued up at the door
For two free pints of beer.

So Tyson's drove a tunnel out
Underneath the sea,
A waste of time and of good money
An' it's there for aal to see.
An' disappointed Dawdon men
Bitterly we realize
What the gaffors said that night
Was nowt but flaming lees.

Now with shearers machine-men are gannin' mad
Ripping out aal the coal
An' they're workin' themselves and us as well
Out of a job an' onto the dole.
An' with the thoughts of being on the dole
Staring us in the face,
The way the NCB's tret the Durham miner
Aa think it's a damn disgrace.

An' so now Aa think in five years' time
The pit it will close down
And there's nae other work for us ti dee
In oor little town.
Then the NCB will've done to us
What to others they've done before
An' the mining men in oor town
'll be mining men no more.