Below is a slightly different version that Vin performs.

Ah me name is John Gates, I worked down the pit 'til they closed it a few years ago
It was all I could do, it was all that I knew, I was broken apart by the blow
most of my friends they were in the same boat, when they closed that old colliery down
and at fifty years old, I knew I was screwed, there was no work for me in the town

Give me the silver and gold, give me the silver and gold
me hands must be clean when I'm picking the seam
not black with the dust of the coal
give me the silver and gold

We still met at the club, but it wasn't the same, the comradeship somehow had gone
I remember the time on that cold picket line, when our Union bonds were so strong
and I never thought that I'd see grown me cry, they were hard men, proud and true
as they sipped at their beers, they fought back the tears, and I shared their despairing too

Give me the silver and gold, give me the silver and gold
me hands must be clean when I'm picking the seam
not black with the dust of the coal
give me the silver and gold

All that was left for me was the thread, the thread of the silver and gold
an interest for years, I layed all my fears, and I gave it my whole heart and soul
when an advert for a dressmaking class caught my eye, I enrolled as the only man there
and as my skill grew, I finally knew I had something so precious to share

Give me the silver and gold, give me the silver and gold
me hands must be clean when I'm picking the seam
not black with the dust of the coal
give me the silver and gold

I laboured for months on my girl's wedding dress, stitching dreams through the silk with the thread
intricate patterns of silver and gold, all thoughts of the colliery dead
and as we walked arm in arm down the aisle, she smiled as I caught her eye
that moment so rare, was just too much to bear, this hard man started to cry
and as we walked arm in arm down the aisle, she smiled as I caught her eye
that moment so rare, was just too much to bear, this hard man started to cry

Give me the silver and gold, give me the silver and gold
me hands must be clean when I'm picking the seam
not black with the dust of the coal
give me the silver and gold

Give me the silver and gold, give me the silver and gold
me hands must be clean when I'm picking the seam
not black with the dust of the coal
give me the silver and gold


lyrics submitted by Mick Ogden