Blackleg Miner

English folk song

"Blackleg Miner" is a 19th century English folk song, originally from Northumberland (as can be deduced from the dialect in the song and the references in it to the villages of Seghill and Seaton Delaval). Its Roud number is 3193. The song is one of the most controversial English folk songs owing to its depiction of violence against strikebreakers.

The song is believed to originate from the miners' lockout of 1844. Although this was a national lock out, the language of the song suggests that it refers to the dispute in the north east coalfield, which lasted roughly 20 weeks. The lockout largely collapsed as a result of "blackleg" labour. The village of Seghill, mentioned in the song, was the site of a mass eviction of striking miners during the 1844 lockout. Thomas Burt wrote of the situation:
the very magnitude of the evictions, extending over nearly the whole of the mining districts of Northumberland and Durham, made it impossible to find house accommodation for a twentieth part of the evicted. Scores of the Seghill families camped out by the roadside between that village and the Avenue Head. The song depicts the determined, uncompromising stance against strikebreakers adopted by unionized strikers. Some say that the term blackleg for a strikebreaker has its origins in coal mining, as strikebreakers would return covered in black coal dust which would give away that they had been working whilst others had been on strike. However, the words of the song indicate the reason for the name. It says "With his moleskin pants". Mine workers from Wales employed in strikebreaking commonly wore pants made from moleskins, which were of course black due to their wet working properties. The coal mining sector in the UK was always heavily unionised, and mining strikes such as in 1926, 1974 and 1984 5 have had big impacts on British society. The strikes caused bitterness both within and between pit communities, but also gave rise to expressions of solidarity such as sympathy strikes, material assistance such as food, and a feeling of belonging to a proud and powerful community of workers. The lyrics describe tactics common for attacking strikebreakers in the 19th century. Across the way they stretch a line/ To catch the throat and break the spine/ Of the dirty blackleg miner describes how a rope was often stretched across the entrance to a colliery to catch strikebreakers by the throat and flick them backwards, often causing them to injure themselves through falling. Strikebreakers were often stripped of their clothes and working tools once caught.

The song gained another revival during the hard fought strike of the 1980s, and playing it became a political statement in support of the strike. The Steeleye Span recording was often played to intimidate working miners.

In the Northumbrian dialect, the word work rhymes with dark. However, virtually all singers do not rhyme the first two lines of the song. Ewan MacColl (1978) is one of the exceptions, as he attempted to sing the song with Northumbrian pronunciation throughout. Divint gaan is Northumbrian dialect for don't go. Some versions say dinna gang, which is the dialect for an area slightly further north, in Scotland. It's in the evening after dark,When the blackleg miner creeps to work,With his moleskin pants and dirty shirt,There gaans the blackleg miner!Well he takes his tools and doon he gaansTo hew the coal that lies below,There's not a woman in this town rowWill look at the blackleg miner. Oh, Delaval is a terrible place. They rub wet clay in the blackleg's face,And aroond the heaps they run a foot race,To catch the blackleg miner!So, divvint gaan near the Seghill mine. Across the way they stretch a line,To catch the throat and break the spineOf the dirty blackleg miner. They grab his duds and his pick as well,And they hoy them down the pit of hell. Doon ye gaan, and fare ye well,You dirty blackleg miner!So join the union while you may. Divvin't wait till your dying day,For that may not be far away,You dirty blackleg miner!