I wanted to write a song about the condition of the local mining areas ten years after the miners strike. I started with The Colliers Rant a well known song from the north-east and reputedly sung as the anthem when the mines were nationalised in the 40s. ‘Hence the Grimethorpe Band played the miners anthem as a tribute to halcyon days’. I also incorporated the first line of the chorus ‘follow the horses Johnny me laddie’ to try and create a metaphor between horses being put out to graze and the miners. The second verse refers to Arthur Scargill who was proved right.
You dug to survive like a mole underground, risking your life just to keep the bills down And what spare cash you made well you spent in this town You were born and brought up in this place
Chorus
There’s a hole in the ground where the money came from There’s hole in this town now the old mine has gone and the shop fronts are bordered from despair and fear With no chance of work and no signs of the old winding gear
Chorus
One man knew a decade ago, that the mines would be dead along with king coal So its time to stand firm don’t give into the dole Remember your sons and your daughters
Chorus
So you fought like a dog to keep the old ways, for the nurses the workers and their rights to a say But the times little change as back in old days Betrayed by all trades and their leaders
Chorus
And the Grimethorpe band played the miners’ anthem, as a tribute to halcyon days Sing follow the horses oh Johnny my laddie And the miners were forced out to graze
There’s a hole in the ground where the money came from, remember your past and the things you have done And don’t ever forget your part in that year And the name and the faces of those who shut the old winding gear
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