![Cover art for Blackleg Miner [*] lyrics by Steeleye Span](https://images.songmeanings.com/ef1adf7b-ef6b-4d97-831d-c4186660dd03.webp)
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Blackleg Miner [*] Lyrics
It's in the evening after dark
When the blackleg miner creeps to work,
With his moleskin pants and dirty shirt,
There goes the blackleg miner.
Well, he grabs his duds and down he goes,
To hew the coal that lies below,
There's not a woman in this town row
Will look at the blackleg miner.
Oh, Delaval is a terrible place,
They rub wet clay in the blackleg's face,
And around the heaps they run a footrace
To catch the blackleg miner.
And even down near the Seghill mine,
Across the way they stretch a line
To catch the throat, to break the spine
Of the dirty blackleg miner.
They grabbed his duds, his picks as well,
And they hoy them down the pit of hell,
Down you go, we pay you well,
You dirty blackleg miner.
It's in the evening after dark
That the blackleg miner creeps to work,
With his moleskin pants and dirty shirt,
There goes the blackleg miner.
So join the union while you may,
Don't wait 'til your dying day
For that may not be far away,
You dirty blackleg miner.
When the blackleg miner creeps to work,
With his moleskin pants and dirty shirt,
There goes the blackleg miner.
Well, he grabs his duds and down he goes,
To hew the coal that lies below,
There's not a woman in this town row
Will look at the blackleg miner.
Oh, Delaval is a terrible place,
They rub wet clay in the blackleg's face,
And around the heaps they run a footrace
To catch the blackleg miner.
And even down near the Seghill mine,
Across the way they stretch a line
To catch the throat, to break the spine
Of the dirty blackleg miner.
They grabbed his duds, his picks as well,
And they hoy them down the pit of hell,
Down you go, we pay you well,
You dirty blackleg miner.
It's in the evening after dark
That the blackleg miner creeps to work,
With his moleskin pants and dirty shirt,
There goes the blackleg miner.
So join the union while you may,
Don't wait 'til your dying day
For that may not be far away,
You dirty blackleg miner.
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A "blackleg" is a worker who is not a member of a union, and who is employed by the bosses to break strikes organized by the union. That is to say, the blackleg defies the orders of the union for everyone to stop work until management meets their demands.
Because blacklegs or 'scabs' reduced the impact of the strike by allowing the mine to keep working, they were very much hated by the striking miners. In this song, the blackleg miner goes to work in secret at night ("in the evening after dark"), for fear of the retribution that he will face if he is caught.
This is a union song, probably intended to discourage strike-breakers and encourage union membership. It probably dates from the miner's lockout of 1844, a nationwide miner's strike, but makes particular reference to two coal mines in Northumberland. The lockout was eventually unsuccessful, largely due to the use of blackleg labor by the mine owners.
"moleskin pants and dirty shirt" -- the working clothes of a coal miner
"grabs his duds" -- 'grabs his clothing'
"to hew the coal" -- 'to dig the coal'
"there's not a woman in this town row would look at the blackleg miner" -- blacklegs were not just at risk of violence, anyone willing -- or desperate enough -- to break a strike would risk being socially ostracized by people in the community.
"Delaval" -- Seaton Delaval coal mine in Northumberland, England.
"the Seghill mine" -- another coal mine, located near the village of Seghill not far from Seaton Delaval.