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[Verse]
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It's good of you to ask me, Sir, to tell you how I spend the day
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Well in a coal black tunnel, Sir, I hurry corves to earn my pay
     C                                   Em
The corves are full of coal, kind Sir, I push them with my hands and head
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It isn't lady-like, but Sir, you've got to earn your daily bread

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I push them with my hands and head, and so my hair gets worn away
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You see this baldy patch I've got, it shames me like I just can't say
   C                               Em
A lady's hands are lily white, but mine are full of cuts and segs
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And since I'm pushing all the time, I've great big muscles on my legs

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I try to be re-spectable, but sir, the shame, God save my soul
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I work with naked, sweating men who curse and swear and hew the coal
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The sights, the smells, the sounds, kind Sir, not even God could sense my shame
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I say my prayers, but what's the use? Tomorrow will be just the same

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Now, sometimes, Sir, I don't feel well, my stomach's sick, my head it aches
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I've got to hurry best I can. My knees feel weak, my back near breaks
      C                                       Em
And then I'm slow, and then I'm scared these naked men will batter me
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They can't be blamed, but if I'm slow, their families will starve, you see

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All the lads, they laugh at me, and Sir, the mirror tells me why
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Pale and dirty can't look nice. It doesn't matter how I try
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Great big muscles on my legs, a baldy patch upon my head
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A lady, Sir? Oh, no, not me! I should have been a boy instead

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I praise your good in-tentions, Sir, I love your kind and gentle heart
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But now it's 1842, and you and me, we're miles apart
   C                                Em
A hundred years and more will pass before we're walking side by side
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But please accept my grateful thanks. God bless you Sir, at least you tried