The Colliery
Summer days in a mining town
Lunch box sitting by the kitchen door
Whistle blows at the Colliery
Time for work, all my muscles sore
Long day’s work for little pay
No complaints, we’re doing fine
Wednesday, got a half day off
Have a few beers, forget the mine
Down inside that mine we give it a go
No panic here, no need to be hurrying
Mice are moving kind of slow
I’ll start to panic if I see them scurrying
The Colliery overshadows the town
Sometimes causes a bit of strife
A sense of pride putting that hammer down
For a miner it’s a way of life
Wife stays home to raise the kids
When that alarm goes off sometimes she’ll cry
Town waits quietly to hear the news
There’s a self-respect that money can’t buy
A constant struggle from day to day
Months pass quickly and the bills come due
Most times they are larger than the pay
But somehow, Thank God, we make it through
Though the times are hard trying to make ends meet
We get a perspective of what’s important in life
Our riches aren’t measured in the material things
They are children, good neighbors and a loving wife
There is a brotherhood within the town
A sense of belonging, a sense of pride
The colliery may have been shut down
But the spirit of the miner has never died.
Tamaqua, Pa. USA in the 50s.
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