Smiles for the cameras as the miners return They say no one has lost and no one has gained But wiser and stronger the people have changed And it won't be the same in the village again Twelve months of bribery, twelve months of lies Cops in the village to truncheon your bride Scabs down the back roads to break up the strike Come out of your houses--there's a war on outside Attacked in the village, attacked in the courts Sacked for refusing to bow to their lords Less than a whisper from commons and lords Retreats from the front when they most need support
Woman and woman in opposing extremes Between man-made heaven and popular dreams Between twisted detachment and learning to breathe One locks the prison one sets herself free Smiles for the cameras as the miners return They say no one has lost and no one has gained But wiser and stronger the people have changed And it won't be the same in fitzwilliam again Cage and canary are left in the mine Canary still sings as machinery dies Song breaks the bars which imprison its life Flies from the pit shaft and into the skies