UNISONActive is an unofficial blog produced by UNISON activists for UNISON activists. Bringing news, briefings and events from a progressive left perspective.

Sunday 14 July 2013

Miners Strike by Ian McMillan

It feels like a hundred years ago, or it could just be last week
When they stood on a freezing picket line and history took a turn
When communities refused to die or turn the other cheek
And what did we learn, eh? What did we learn?

For a year the pit wheels stood stock still,
And money dwindled, then ran out
But collectivism's hard to kill
And if you stand and listen, you'll still hear them shout...
But what did we learn, eh? What did we learn?

It feels like just a week ago, or it could be a hundred years
When the police vans charged with their sirens on through the silent weeping streets;
And they cooked and marched and argued through a mist of pain and fear
And a shut down pit's a symbol of depression and defeat
So what did we learn, eh? What did we learn?

The past is not just Kings and Queens, it's those like me and you
Who clashed with a woman at Number 10, who had to stand and fight
Cos when your way of life's being smashed to bits, what else can you do?
As the pickets braziers glow and smoke in the freezing Yorkshire night;
What did we learn, he? What did we learn?
Buy frozen peas where the braziers burned
What did we learn? What should we learn?

http://www.uktouring.org.uk/ian-mcmillan/