The Blackleg Miner

Traditional
(Steeleye Span)

Oh, it's in the evening after dark, 
When the blackleg miner creeps to work, 
With his moleskin pants and dirty shirt, 
There goes the blackleg miner.

Well he grabs his duds and down he goes 
To hew the coal that lies below, 
There's not a woman in this town-row 
Will look at the blackleg miner.

F#m              E
Oh, Delaval is a terrible place.
     F#m               E
They rub wet clay in a blackleg's face,
    F#m                   E
And around the heaps they run a foot race,
   F#m       E       F#m
To catch the blackleg miner.


So, don't go near the Seghill mine. 
Across the way they stretch a line, 
To catch the throat and break the spine 
Of the dirty blackleg miner.

They'll take your tools and your duds as well
And throw them down in the pit of hell,
It's down you go and fare you well
You dirty blackleg miner.

Oh, it's in the evening after dark, 
When the blackleg miner creeps to work, 
With his moleskin pants and dirty shirt, 
There goes the blackleg miner.

So join the union while you may. 
Don't you wait till your dying day, 
For that may not be far away, 
You dirty blackleg miner.


It is strange that a song as powerful and as singable as this
should be so rare, yet it has only once been collected, from a
man in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, in 1949.  Seghill and
Seaton Delaval (presumably the Delaval mentioned in the song) are
adjacent mining villages about six miles north of Newcastle-
upon-Tyne, but it is difficult to date the song due to the
innumerable mining strikes which have occurred.  It is, however,
interesting as much as it illustrates the violent hatred felt by
the 'union' men towards the blacklegs.  Hutchings: "This is the
most modern traditional song on the album, possibly dating from
the early part of the 20th Century, and is sometimes sung by
singers from Northumberland."

Note: A black-leg is a scab.

On Hark! The Village Wait LP, copyright (c) 1970 by RCA