Ill tell you the tale of a battle.
Its one of the fiercest weve had
Between an American butcher
And bold Mrs Scargills young lad.
The Yankee came over to England
To rationalise British Steel
He slew British Leyland, and then he moved on
To bring our miners to heel.
But he hadnt reckoned on Arthur
A worthy opponent, our man,
He said: "Nay to hummah, you cant do that there,
"Although Maggie says that you can
"You see, we have got these agreements,
"Concerning pit closures, and such
"We feel a bit strong about that sort of thing,
"We dont like your attitude much.
"We have this old-fashioned tradition
"That might seem a trifle absurd
"When we make agreements we mean what we say
"A man should be good as his word.
"So sling your hook, Ian MacGregor,
"In Tebbits words get on your bike
"Until you have honoured the Programme for Coal
"I reckon well stay out on strike".
June 1984
This verse was inspired by the Stanley Holloway monologues. I wrote this one night, when I couldnt sleep.