BLACKIE

Me father was a collier, worked Harton off the coast Though he rattled from the coal dust he was whiter than a ghost But the one thing that reviled him in his God-forsaken post Was the torment of the pit ponies who he'd love and trust the most. Shetlands worked the low seams, Gallers the big pit And they toiled in dust and danger in the darkness and the grit Blinkered up between the limbers, heaving coal, tubs full of it Were the brave young beasts of burden, all a-frothing at the bit. And Blackie was a strong 'un, he'd been down since '34 But he earned the lads good bonus so they worked him more and more Till the weight buckled his legs and he stumbled to the floor And he just laid there a-panting, all a-choking in his craw. Ah me Da would bring them sugar and share with them his bait, Now his mind was torn with fury and his heart was filled with hate So raging black with anger he made the butchers wait And he vowed he'd take the pony back up with him in the crate Then Da's no longer digging, they locked him up you see, For misappropriating mineowners property, But you cannot cage a conscience, he'd set the brave one free, From the bittered, blackened hellhole that had been his slavery.. Now Blackie's in the meadow with horses by his side When the miners bring their children down he takes them for a ride And he passes by the pithead and the place he nearly died And he brays a silent prayer for the others still inside For the broken, bloodied ponies and the tears yet to be cried There's torment in them ponies down the mine, Hear me well, lad There's torment in them ponies down the mine, Hear me well, lad There's torment in them ponies down the mine. HEAR ME SING THIS IN CONCERT ON YOUTUBE: 'Louis Spence.Ballard of Blackie' THANK YOU.