His dad was a miner and his granddad was too
There was never much question about what he might do
By the age of thirteen he had laid down his pen
And become a coal-miner and a prince among men

My goal as a young lad from a bright early age
Was to follow my hero down in that cage
Fairy lights and Pit Ponies were the stuff of my dreams
Never thinking how hard my dad worked at the seam

Only a miner killed under the ground
Only a miner and one more is found
Killed by accident no one can tell
Your mining's all over, poor miner, farewell

Dad worked like a Trojan, his money to save
I'm afraid that he worked himself into his grave
And my schooling was paid at the cost of his lungs
Dad was an old man at the age of forty-one

I never will forget how his face lit with pride
When I got my diploma, he was there by my side
And I try to remember him as he was then
A rare moment of joy for a prince among men

Only a miner killed under the ground
Only a miner and one more is found
Killed by accident no one can tell
Your mining's all over, poor miner, farewell

A gold watch and chain inscribed James Doyle
Never seemed much reward for a life of such toil
But I keep his lamp burning and his old union card
And his bones rest here in this sunlit graveyard

My dad was a miner and a prince among men
Well loved by his wife and his family and friends
And his hardship and toil gave me the one chance I had
And generations of slavery died with my dad

Only a miner killed under the ground
Only a miner and one more is found
Killed by accident no one can tell
Your mining's all over, poor miner, farewell

Only a miner killed under the ground
Only a miner and one more is found
Killed by accident no one can tell
Your mining's all over, poor miner, farewell