Gecko
Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2021 4:46 pm
Just reading some of Alans poems and saw the one about working underground, I just remembered that I wrote this one when I was working at Gecko in the N.T. in '96. I think I probably posted it on one of the sites in the past but here it is anyway.
“GECKO”
© Ross Magnay 5/3/06
A thousand feet of granite, between my helmet and the sun,
There’s dust and heat and dirt and dark, and tainted waters run.
And here we see no treasure, no copper gold or lead,
As we work in our granite tomb, are we the living dead?
It’s drill and blast and truck the ore, then pull it up above,
We’re here to earn a bloody quid, we’re sure not here for love!
So pull the skips and shift the ore, we’ve got to get it out,
We’ll show that bloody day shift, what mining’s all about,
And when the shift is over, we’ll roll a box of beer,
That’s when the mining stories are the biggest that you’ll hear.
There’s twice as many headings bogged, and skips go up the shaft,
And faces bored and blasted, “Cock ups? Don’t be daft!”
So here we are at “Gecko”, toiling for our quids,
To pay the bills and buy some beers, and try to feed the kids,
And though each of us reckons that we’ll snatch it soon for sure,
After every break is done, we all come back for more!
“GECKO”
© Ross Magnay 5/3/06
A thousand feet of granite, between my helmet and the sun,
There’s dust and heat and dirt and dark, and tainted waters run.
And here we see no treasure, no copper gold or lead,
As we work in our granite tomb, are we the living dead?
It’s drill and blast and truck the ore, then pull it up above,
We’re here to earn a bloody quid, we’re sure not here for love!
So pull the skips and shift the ore, we’ve got to get it out,
We’ll show that bloody day shift, what mining’s all about,
And when the shift is over, we’ll roll a box of beer,
That’s when the mining stories are the biggest that you’ll hear.
There’s twice as many headings bogged, and skips go up the shaft,
And faces bored and blasted, “Cock ups? Don’t be daft!”
So here we are at “Gecko”, toiling for our quids,
To pay the bills and buy some beers, and try to feed the kids,
And though each of us reckons that we’ll snatch it soon for sure,
After every break is done, we all come back for more!