Lyrics Ed Miller - The Prince of Darkness

I was born in the Village of Cockenzie, and my Faither was an elder of the Kirk
On the day I turned 13, he looked me in the ee'n,
and told me it was time I was at work
For employment was the way to beat the devil,
and I must challenge him wher'eer he is found
But if I wanted decent pay, there were five different ways,
North, South, East, West or down

Chorus:
I used to battle wi' the Prince of Darkness,
I used to steal away his heart through a four foot seam
And if they asked if I was poor, I'd tell 'em, "Aye, sure"
But they never had to teach me how to dream.

Ah the first time I went under I was shakin',
I was just a laddie frightened o' the dark
But wi' a cutter in mah hands, I soon became a man,
I was surely never frightened o' the work
I learned to listen for creakin' of the timbers,
tae watch the air around the candle flame
And in every sweated ton, I knew how many risks we'ed run,
and that danger was a miner's middle name (Chorus)

I went in at Newtongrange and Kirkcaldy,
sweatin' blood for seven bob a week
And in the shuttle and the cage, I learned the spirit of the age,
from men who never turned the other cheek.
And when my Father asked if I was still for Jesus?
Was he my help and saviour down the line?
I said I'd bow my head in prayer, if I turned and found him there,
At my shoulder on a union picket line (Chorus)

But now I work in the Mining Museum,
show the tourists what my job used to be.
And when they ask about my clan, I tell 'em I'm a workin' man
And the Union is clan enough for me
It gave me brothers from the Redden tae the Rhonda,
And comrades from the Rockies tae the Rand,
For there's nae colour, creed, or race, when you're sweatin' at the face
Wi' a pick or shovel in your hand (Chorus)

And now we've a government in London, and the New Labor Party's won the day
And they come back to find their roots, in their sharp Italian suits
And when the cameras are gone, so are they.
And they whisper that socialisms dying,
ya cannie sell it at the supermarket till
But while there's 50 left like me, we'll make bloody sure they see,
That ideas are the hardest thing to kill