A small tribute to the fallen 12.

Rest in peace. May all the mines be unionized so safety becomes the priority over profits.

This is "One Miner's Life" and "Image of God" as pieced together by the Battlefield Band.

Nou ye are born, anither tae feed
Smaa is our wants, lad, but great is our need
For wark is scarce, yer dad's on the dole
They want nae mair men for they've got too much coal

Whae kens whae yer cryin for?
Whae kens whae made us sae puir?
Whae kens what ye're gaunnae be?
Whae kens what's in store for ye?

Nou ye're a boy, ye play in the streets
Fishin the burn an performin great feats
While the pitheap stands, markin the graves
O faithers an sons an the lives that they gave

Nou ye've left school, ye're a man at thirteen
Yer mither is grim as she looks on the scene
As she maks up yer piece, ye're aff doun below
An awa tae the pit wi yer faither ye go

Nou ye're a man, ye wark in the mine
Wi fightin an strugglin ye're auld fore yer time
For the wark is hard, conditions are bad
An ye've promised yer bairns aa the things ye've no had

Crawlin' aboot like a snail in the mud,
Covered wi' clammy blae,
ME, made after the image o' God -
Jings! But it's laughable, tae.

Howkin' awa' 'neath a mountain o' stane,
Gaspin' for want o' air,
The sweat makin' streams doon my bare back-banes,
And my knees a' hauckit and sair.

Strainin' and cursin' the hale shift through,
Half-starved, half-blin', half-mad,
And the gaffer he says, "Less dirt in that coal
Or ye go up the pit, my lad."

So I gie my life tae the Nimmo squad
For eicht and fower a day.
Me! Made after the image o' God -
Jings! But it's laughable, tae.

Nou ye are auld, ye've warked aa ye can
But they're closin the pit and ye're pairt o a plan
Tae cut out waste an mak the mines pay
Sae tae hell wi ye nou lad an be on yer way