Way back when copper was king
Fortunes grew on the blood of my kin
Digging deep and sacrificed
They all paid a terrible price

In black holes they slaved away
Wearing crowns of candle and clay
Suffering fire, and flood and pain
All for the sake of another's man gain

Living, and dying, barely surviving

Down in the ground in the poisoned air
Down where the mineral lords didn't care
Down in the dark where they lost their soul
Down, down, down in the hole

Women and children barrowing ore
Slaving up on the dressing floor
Carrying the weight of a full grown man
All to fill that Captain's plan

In the mines they sweated and bled
Barely earned their daily bread
Dying young they had no life
All they knew was hunger and strife

Living, and dying, barely surviving

Mines are closed, but you may see
They've still left their legacy
Hidden in the bracken round
Shafts await to take you down

Down in the ground in the poisoned air
Down where nobody knows you're there
Down in the dark where you'll lose your soul
Down, down, down in the hole

Down in the hole
Way on down
Down in the hole
Down in the hole