A Welsh Coal Mines web page

Picket Line.


I spent some time on the picket line, back in eighty-four,
Scargill was the union man and Thatcher was the foe.
We tried to stop pit closures, our one and only goal,
Our jobs were being threatened; we wanted Coal not Dole.

I spent some time on the picket line, trying to stop the scabs,
They drove them through in heavy trucks and guarded Taxicabs.
Now Maggie said, "these miners, we must not let them win",
She called us "Reds and Traitors" and "The Enemy Within".

I spent some time on the picket line; I did my duty there,
But Maggie used her Bullyboys; they came from everywhere.
They were not your friendly Bobbies, to see that all was fair,
Those Baton Beating Maniacs, they hit and did not care.

I spent some time on the picket line, with no money coming in,
We survived on a weekly parcel and the help of friends and kin.
After twelve long months, we'd had enough nothing did we gain,
So one by one she closed the mines; our struggle was in vain.

I spent some time on the picket line, I sometimes wonder why,
Why fight to work in danger and dirt? It's stupid I can't deny.
And the valleys are looking greener, now the pits are no more,
Perhaps she did us a favour, back in Nineteen eighty-four?
 
 
J H Smith