Down In The Hole

 

I was sixteen, they threw me down the hole,

I stood in darkness, breathing in the dust

while learning who I could and couldn’t trust

in this black new empire of worm and mole.

My dad said it was this life or the dole -

if our family was to earn a crust

then I would have to work until I bust

and sacrifice ambition, heart and soul.

Years of hardship finally took its toll

and I was laid off, let into the light

that shone from Thatcher’s false economy.

Forever stained of coal and bent of spine,

I lie awake and stare into the night

and focus on the times and friends I see

in the nightmare recesses of the mine.