As mentioned in this thread, in an October 2008 interview on CBC Radio Ms. Seeger credited MacColl with the "Down at the coalface the miners working" verse. To my ear this verse has a different rhetorical quality than the rest of the song. I feel awkward singing it because its slightly florid lyricism doesn't quite fit the prosier narration of other verses, even though it does a great job of setting the scene for the disaster.