The Miner – A Life Denied
(Inspired by Tommy Armstrong The Pitmans Poet and my Dad Tommy Kilburn The Miner}
My Daddy was a miner
Black diamonds were his aim
Digging for coal destroyed his soul
But he never did complain
My Daddy was a miner
He earned his daily bread
Hewing coal in the dark and dust
Just to keep his family fed
He spend his whole life working
So far beneath the soil
Night and Day
He hauled the coal
In never ending toil
The Dust it finally killed him
But long before he died
He made me swear
That I would live
The life he’d been denied
My Daddy was a Miner
He worked hard all his life
To get the bare essentials
For his children and his wife
My Daddy was a miner
He couldn’t read or write
But he made sure that I’d achieve
The things he’d missed in life
I’ll keep my promise to him
And think of him with pride
For Him I’ll live the life he yearned
The life he was denied
My father was a miner
I think of him each day
I think about the life he led
The things he had to say
My Father was a Miner
He lived to see my son
He lived to see the Life I lead
The life he had begun
He spend his whole life working
So far beneath the soil
Night and Day
He hauled the coal
In never ending toil
The Dust it finally killed him
But long before he died
He made me swear
That I would live
The life he’d been denied
I’ve kept my promise to him
He’s always been my guide
And I have lived the life he yearned
The life he was denied
Yes I have lived the life he yearned
The life he was denied
Kel writes
I thought you may be interested in hearing a song my friend and I recently wrote inspired by Tommy Armstrong (The Pitmans Poet) and based loosely on the life of my dad Tommy Kilburn a pitman in the Durham Coalfield from the age of fourteen (in1918) until he retired at sixty five. He worked in most of the local mines including The Victory Pit at Delves Lane most of which were owned by Consett Iron Company prior to nationalisation.
Lyrics by Kel Kilburn
Melody by Alan Myers
Listen on this link The Miner (A Life Denied) Finale LVI.mp3 (dropbox.com)
