The Miner's Life (I've always called it that way, not The Miner's Lifeguard) originated as one of the "gutter choir" songs in the "Sliding Scale" strike, which united the South Wales miners together and formed one big union as The South Wales Miner's Federation (forerunner to the NUM.) The miners looked around for a tune, and lo and behold, one had just been written to the Welsh hymn Calon Lan (A Pure Heart), which was a big hit on that day. The "Sliding Scale" strike was fought by the miners against the South Wales coal owners, who had implemented the Sliding Scale Agreement. This basically said that as the coal market went down, the miners' wages went down too. It gives the chorus that memorable line:

Keep your hands upon your wages
And your eyes upon the Scale.

Afterwards, the South Wales miners emigrated to America, particularly Scranton, Pennsylvania – we had a gig in the coal-mining town of Nanticoke PA, and I remember all the striking similarities between US mining towns and coal villages from the Rhondda. (The chairman and his wife of Nanticoke Welsh Society were Jack and Sandy Pritchard who made us very welcome.) Once they were in America, the miners adopted a home-grown US tune called Life Is Like A Mountain Railroad, which goes (if I remember it right) "Keep your hands upon the throttle and your eyes upon the rail."

I recorded The Miners' Life in 1977 on Gowerton Fair (Joe Stead's SFA label), and I fear the notes might have been inaccurate – I was misinformed, but I soon put that right! Calennig recorded The Miner's Life as one-half of a double song (with Old Soldiers, the quite stunning songwriting of Jon Heslop, pillar of Llantrisant Folk Club before he moved to Cornwall.) The album was Dyddiau Gwynion Ionawr (Snowy Days Of January) which we recorded for Sain Cyf, the national Welsh recording company – Dafydd Iwan has stepped down as chief executive following his election as president of Plaid Cymru, and the new chief exec is Dafydd Roberts, the harp-playing brother in Ar Log.)

Incidentally, if you think that Nanticoke PA describes a typical American-Welsh mining town, you could be wrong. Nanticoke was the name of the native-American chief, who sold the settlers land!   

The Miners' Life

The Miner's Life if like a sailor's,
'Board a ship to cross the wave,
Every day his life's in danger
Still he ventures, being brave.
Watch the rocks, they're falling daily,
Careless miners always fail;
Keep your hands upon your wages
And your eyes upon the scale.

Union miners, stand together,
Never heed the owners' tale,
Keep your hands upon your wages
And your eyes upon the scale.

You've been docked, and docked again boys,
You've been loading two to one,
What have you to show for working
Since the mining has begun;
But worn-out boots, and worn-out miners,
Lungs of stone and children pale,
Keep your hands upon your wages
And your eyes upon the scale.

In conclusion, bear in memory,
Keep this password in your mind,
God provides for every miner
When in union they combine;
Stand like men, and linked together
Victory shall for you prevail;
Keep your hands upon your wages
And your eyes upon the scale.

Mick Tems