Traditional, from Northumberland (north-eastern England).
There have been many miners' strikes over the years,
and it's unclear which one this dates from - perhaps from the strikes of 1844,
which collapsed after 20 weeks thanks to strike-breaking (blackleg) miners.
It enjoyed a revival thanks to the miners' strikes of the 1980s
under Margaret Thatcher's government.
Various artists have recorded this; this version is from the oral tradition
of Forest School Camps.
Dm C
It's in the evening, after dark
Dm Am
The blackleg miner gangs ta wark
Dm C
In his moleskin pants and dirty shirt
Dm C Dm
There goes the blackleg miner
Dm C
He takes his pick and down he goes
Dm Am
To hew the coal that lies below
Dm C
There's not a woman in this town row
Dm C Dm
Would look at a blackleg miner
Dm C
For Deleval is a terrible place
Dm Am
They rub wet clay in a blackleg's face
Dm C
Around the pits they run a foot race
Dm C Dm
To catch the blackleg miner
Dm C
And don't go near the Seghill mine
Dm Am
Across the top they've stretched a line
Dm C
To catch the throat and break the spine
Dm C Dm
Of the dirty blackleg miner
Dm C
Well they take his pick and duds as well
Dm Am
And they hurl them down the pit of Hell
Dm C
So off you go and fare thee well
Dm C Dm
You dirty blackleg miner
Dm C
So join the union while you may
Dm Am
Don't wait till your dying day
Dm C
For that may not be far away
Dm C Dm
You dirty blackleg miner
