Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Hard Times in Comer's Mines (Andy Irvine) From: Stewie Date: 18 Oct 18 - 10:02 AM Many thanks, Gerry. Your assistance is much appreciated. It's amazing how clear some of the mishearings become! --Stewie. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Hard Times in Comer's Mines (Andy Irvine) From: GUEST,Gerry Date: 18 Oct 18 - 03:02 AM These are the lyrics in the booklet. I haven't checked to see whether these are the lyrics he actually sings. HARD TIMES IN COMER’S MINES (Andy Irvine) In 1930 my daddy, said he Stay out of the mines, take a warning from me With dust you’ll be choked and a pauper you’ll be And you’ll wheeze like the bagpipes of Patsy Touhey It’s hard times in Comer’s mines Hard times we know To dig out the coal you must lie on your side For the seam it is just 18 inches high Eight hours a day for pie in the sky And your pay so low and your expenses so high Refrain Nixie Boran was invited to go To a union congress held in Moscow But the Department of Foreign Affairs it said no For Red Russia we’ll never allow But Nixie stowed away on a ship And he landed in France and continued his trip Says he, ‘In old Ireland we must get a grip ‘And we’ll form a union for miners now’ Refrain The huts that we live in are built very poor And the holes in the roof let the rain in go leor [I don't know what that means] To keep ourselves warm you can be very sure With mud we have plastered the walls The rain washes it off all over the floor My wife she sits weeping, what can she do more On a wet winter’s night how the children they bawl And the captain in comfort at Luxury Hall Refrain The money we earn, well it is very slight And we pay for our tools which doesn’t seem right The denonat-ers and the gel-ig-nite The candles, the fuses, the fittings The rent for our hut is a half a crown out And we pay for the new church 5 bob a shout At the end of the week you can have little doubt We are sick of these wrongs for the slimmest of pickings Refrain We go to the strike without further delay For a small increase in our miserable wage And coal for our families for which we would pay The cost of its production So Nixie our demands conveyed We were ignored, no offers were made And the church it stepped up its holy crusade For our militant union’s total destruction Refrain Peadar O’Donnell he entered the fray And he went to the bakers in Dublin, they say Two car-loads of bread were delivered that day And supporters doled out more Street meetings in Dublin were held every night Urging support for the miners on strike But after 6 weeks we were losing the fight And we wondered how long we could hold out for Refrain On Sundays at mass our bold parish priest Compared our union to the mark of the beast And some of our neighbours they shared his belief That Nixie was Satan invested They tried to stop Nixie attending at mass And they stationed themselves to not let him pass But we all stood beside them like snakes in the grass And Nixie and family went in unmolested Refrain We found it too hard to endure all this hate From the might of the church and the power of the state Our only desire was to better the fate Of the men who worked in the mine So we joined up with Larkin in Thirty-Three And the coal mine owners at last did agree Our victory was small, but t’was still victory For we felt that we’d struck a blow for mankind Refrain Well, I’ve finished me song and I’ll go away But now in conclusion I’d just like to pay Homage to Nixie, there’s much more to say ‘Bout the times that came to pass John Fitzgerald, Jimmie and Tom Walsh was their surname but now they are gone And all those brave men that their names may live on For they fought for the rights of the working class Refrain (x2) |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Hard Times in Comer's Mines (Andy Irvine) From: GUEST,Gerry Date: 18 Oct 18 - 02:34 AM The song is on the Andy Irvine & Luke Plumb CD, Precious Heroes, released 2018. The liner notes contain the full lyrics, and also this: Another song I wrote for the NAMHO concert in 2016. Nixie Boran was a union man and a local hero of his time who worked tirelessly for the rights of the miners and their families in Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny in spite of strong opposition from the Church and the State. Many thanks to John Coffey who provided the information needed to write the song, to Seamus Walsh and his Dad Joe, miners in Castlecomer whose book, "In the Shadow of the Mines" told the whole story and to Joseph Kavanagh who first brought Nixie Boran to my attention. I'll fill in the missing lyrics when I get a chance. |
Subject: Lyr Req: Hard Times in Comer's Mines From: Stewie Date: 17 Oct 18 - 11:43 PM I am having trouble deciphering a few bits of this song by Andy Irvine. I have put question marks where I'm having difficulty. I would be grateful for any assistance. Here's what I have: HARD TIMES IN COMER’S MINES (Andy Irvine) In 1930 my daddy, said he Stay out of the mines, take a warning from me With dust you’ll be choked and a pauper you’ll be And you’ll wheeze like the bagpipes of ???? (sounds like Patsy Turvey) It’s hard times in Comer’s mines Hard times we know To dig out the coal you must lie on your side For the seam it is just 18 inches high Eight hours a day for pie in the sky And your pay so low and your expenses so high Refrain Nixie Boran was invited to go To a union congress held in Moscow But the Department of Foreign Affairs it said no For Red Russia we’ll never allow But Nixie stowed away on a ship And he landed in France and continued his trip Says he, ‘In old Ireland we must get a grip ‘And we’ll form a union for miners now’ Refrain The huts that we live in are built very poor And the holes in the roof let the rain in ??? (sounds like ‘golyor’) To keep ourselves warm you can be very sure With mud we have plastered the walls Rain washes the turf all over the floor My wife she sits weeping, what can she do more On a wet winter’s night how the children they bawl And the captain in comfort at Luxury Hall Refrain The money we earn, well it is very slight And we pay for our tools which doesn’t seem right The denonat-ers and the gel-ig-nite The candles, the fuses, the fittings Their in for our hut? if there’s half a crown out And we pay for the new church 5 bob a shout At the end of the week you can have little doubt We are sick of these ? for the slimmest of pickings Refrain We go to the strike without further delay For a small increase in our miserable wage And coal for our families for which we would pay The cost of its production So Nixie our demands conveyed We were ignored, no offers were made And the church it stepped up its holy crusade For our militant union’s total destruction Refrain Father O’Donnell he entered the fray And he went to the bakers in Dublin, they say Two car-loads of bread were delivered that day And supporters doled out more Street meetings in Dublin were held every night Urging support for the miners on strike For after 6 weeks we were losing the fight And we wondered how long we could hold out for Refrain On Sundays at mass our bold parish priest Compared our union to the mark of the beast And some of our neighbours they shared his belief That Nixie was Satan invested They tried to stop him attending at mass And they stationed themselves to not let him pass We all stood beside them like snakes in the grass And Nixie and family went in unmolested Refrain We found it too hard to endure all this hate From the might of the church and the power of the state Our only desire was to better the fate Of the men who worked in the mine So we joined up with Larkin and ???? (sounds like Furphy something) The coal mine owners at last did agree Our victory was small, but t’was still victory For we felt that we’d struck a blow for mankind Refrain Well, I’ve finished me song and I’ll go away But now in conclusion I’d just like to pay Homage to Nixie, there’s much more to say ‘Bout the times that came to pass John Fitzgerald, Jimmie and Tom Walsh was their surname but now they are gone And all those brave men that their names may live on For the fought for the rights of the working class Refrain (x2) --Stewie. |
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