Sorry it's taken so long... things have been a bit mad this week!
There's very little difference between my version and Richie's. Mine comes from a typed copy originally from Alan himself probably with some words altered over the years by me but Alan was prone to changing the words from one performance to the next himself anyway! The main disagreement is that we have verses 2 & 3 the opposite way round. Again who's to say which is right? Indeed does it make a scrap of difference? No! The song is very evocative of the atmosphere in Hartlepool and West Hartlepool (as they then were) at that time with a lot of unemployment brought on by the closure of the shipyard and cutbacks by some other major employers.
There was a bit of a social stigma attached to having to go and get your coal this way which the song evokes very well although collecting it in bulk and selling sacks of it round the town from a lorry did prove quite a profitable business for a number of people over many years!
One of my favourite memories attached to this song was hearing it sung by Alan with magical guitar accompaniment by the said Nick Fenwick at Hartlepool (as it had become by then) Folk Club in the Market in Lynn Street.

Seacoal Warrior                        Alan Todd

Three o'clock on a winter's morn,
And the tide is on the turn
Drag your body out of bed,
Seacoal's good to burn.
The north east gales will bring it in,
While they cut you through and through
What matter if you get soaking wet,
Or if your hands turn blue, going for...

Coal for the fire, coal for the fire
Coal that'll keep the kitchen warm,
Warmth that'll keep the bairns from harm
Coal for the fire.

Get the old boneshaker out,
Or the pram with the buckled wheel.
Get on the road to Seaton Sands
In a wind that's sharp as steel.
Take your sacks, don't forget your rake,
Battered bucket and length of twine.
Hide your shame in the early dawn
And scoop up warmth from the frozen brine,        your...

Leave your pride like your wife in bed.
It's hard for a lad who is on the dole
But growing kids must be clothed and fed
And there's nothing left for coal.
Feed them and clothe them as best you can,
Hand-down clothes and scuff-heeled shoes
Since they closed Gray's shipyard down
What can a feller do, but go for...

Leave your bike on the promenade,
Rake your coal then pick it by hand.
Fill your sacks up and tie them tight
And hump them over the soft dry sand
Three in the V and two on the bar,
You can get more on if you pack them right
Strain your guts over Newburn bank
And push them home through the dawn's cold light, your...

Keep your eyes down on the ground,
Pray that you won't meet a friend
The air is cold but your pride is hot
And recognition is the bitter end.
Make your way home carefully,
Use the back streets and quiet lanes
Seek the safety of your home
Then light your fire again, with your...