patrick street
a prince among men (only a miner)
His dad was a miner and his granddad was too There was never much question about what he might do By the age of thirteen he had laid down his pen And become a coal-miner and a prince among men.  My goal as a young lad from a bright early age Was to follow my hero down in that cage Fairy lights and Pit Ponies were the stuff of my dreams Never  thinking how hard my dad worked at the seam  chorus: Only a miner killed under the ground Only a miner and one more is found Killed by accident no one can tell Your mining's all over, poor miner, farewell.  Dad worked like a Trojan his money to save I'm afraid that he worked himself into his grave And my schooling was paid at the cost of his lungs Dad was an old man at the age of forty-one.  I never will forget how his face lit with pride When I got my diploma, he was there by my side And I try to remember him as he was then A rare moment of joy for a prince among men.  A gold watch and chain inscribed James Doyle Never seemed much reward for a life of such toil But I keep his lamp burning and his old union card And his bones rest here in this sunlit graveyard.  My dad was a miner and a prince among men Well loved by his wife and his family and friends And his hardship and toil gave me the one chance I had And generations of slavery died with my dad.  