COAL BLACK FACES

Clean and bright they make their way
And hurry below to earn their pay
And surface at the end of day
Those men with the coal black faces

  Chorus:
  Coal black faces
  The lips are red
  White eyes glaring from their heads
  A-going home to hard-earned* beds
  Those men with the coal black faces

Old tin bath before the fire
Rest and warmth is their desire
To wash away the earth's black mire
Those men with the coal black faces
 ?Chorus

Dust below and dust outside
But the dust they breathe the body hides
In and out at the flowing tide
Go the men with the coal black faces Chorus
 ?Chorus

Light and warmth our comfort be
In the air the birds fly free
Go down below and you will see
Those men with the coal black faces
 ?Chorus
  A-going home to hard-earned* beds
  Those men with the coal black faces

* possible hardened it's not quite clear enough to decide


Source: Gary and Vera Aspey, album, The Blackbird