Fitzwilliam

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