D                             G 
born 1915 on the south of the tyne 
    D                                   A         A 
he worked on the seam in the west wylam mine 
         D                                   G 
like his father before him and most of their kind 
    D                             A         D 
he fought for the coal with his life on the line 
 
G                     D 
storm clouds upon us 1939 
     G                     EM         A 
no stranger to danger he willingly signed 
      D                                    G 
on a free trip to europe for a man in his prime 
    D                            A           D 
he fought for the crown with his life on the line 
 
Solo
same as 2nd verse 
G  D  G  EM  A  D  G  D  A  D 
 
Middle 8
G                        D 
six years of k*lling and staying alive 
     G                    EM         A 
then home to a wife and a laddie of five 
          D                                    G 
then it’s on with his pit boots and a davy to shine 
    D                          A            D 
and back down the pit with his life on the line 
 
D                                     G 
six years of hewin down in the black hole 
         D                                      A     A 
but the pits running dry and they say "no more coal" 
       D                                G 
"not financially viable the pit owners whined 
        D                      A         D 
so he's out in the cold with a living to find 
 
       G                                D 
so at forty years old to newcastle he came 
    G                        EM 
ex soldier, ex miner, just a pawn in their game 
         D                                  G 
and in a bar in newcastle he served out his time 
         D                      A           D 
and lived out his life so that i could have mine 
 
 D   G   D   A   D 
 
     D                        A            D 
he laid down his life so that i could have mine