Miner’s Washing ~ John Warner

I come from Durham in 99
Married a laddie from the Coal Creek mine
The finest lad that a girl could ever know
Til he brought me his washing from the pit below.

Ch.
Scrubbing the miner's clothes
Scrubbing the miner's clothes
All piled up in a ghastly stack
Heavy as lead and smelly and black
And oh, the pain in my aching back!
Scrubbing the miner's clothes

Well your Currumburra miner is a grimy sort of bloke
So I chuck in his duds for an all-night soak
I takes me a soap and I'll grate it like a cheese
And I'll chuck it in the bucket with his grubby dungarees.
                                                        
And it's haul ‘em from the copper to the rinsing tub
Pound ‘em with the dolly and scrub – scrub - scrub
Pour away the mucky water, do it all again
Haul ‘em through the wringer and pray it doesn't rain.

Beyond Cardella, the sky is looking fine
Basket out the washing to the old clothes line
I bet when they're hung out and I've hauled up the prop
The rain'll come a-pouring and the wind will drop.

So all you maids who to marriage do incline
Never wed a laddie from the Coal Creek mine
A squatter may be surly, a merchant may be mean
A banker may be boring but they're easier to clean.


A great session song - didn't find Margie Walters' version, but here is one from Qld duo, Cloudstreet :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtnwKFjM1Sc


Cheers, R-J