Oh, early in the evenin', just after dark,
The blackleg miners creep to work.
Wi' their moleskin trousers an' dirty shirt,
There go the backleg miners.
They take their picks an' down they go,
To dig the coal that lies below,
An' there's not a woman in this town row
Will look at a blackleg miner.
Oh, Delaval is a terrible place,
They rub wet clay in a blackleg's face.
An' round the pit-heaps they run a foot race
Wi' the dirty blackleg miners.
Now, don't go near the Seghill mine,
Across the way they stretch a line,
To catch the throat an' break the spine
O' the dirty backleg miners.
They'll take your tools an' duds as well
An' hoy them down the pit o' hell.
It's down ye go, an' fare ye well
Ye dirty blackleg miners.
So join the union while you may,
Don't wait till your dyin' day,
For that may not be far away,
Ye dirty blackleg miners.