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Silver and Gold

from Wings of Gold by The Quiggs

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about

We first heard this sung by the great Vin Garbutt, a true story about a coal miner called John Gates. Triumph over adversity!

lyrics

Silver and Gold (Bryn Phillips)

My name is John Gates and I worked down the pit
Til they closed it a few years ago
It was all that I knew, it was all I could do
I was broken apart by the blow
Most of my friends were in the same boat
When they closed that colliery down
And at fifty years old I knew I was through
There was no work for me in the town

Give me the silver and gold
Give me the silver and gold
My hands must be clean
When I'm picking the seam
Not black with the dust of the coal
give me the silver and gold

We still met at the club but it wasn't the same
The comradeship somehow had gone
I remembered the time on that cold picket line
When our union bond made us strong
And I never thought I would see grown men cry
They were hard men, proud and true
as they sipped at their beer they fought back their tears
And I shared their despairing too

All that was left for me was the thread
The thread of the silver and gold
An interest for years allayed all my fears
I gave it my whole heart and soul
When an advert for a dressmaking class caught my eye
I enrolled as the only man there
And as my skill grew, I finally knew
I had something so precious to share

I laboured for months on my girl's wedding dress
Stitching dreams through the silk with the thread
Intricate patterns of silver and gold
All thoughts of the colliery dead
And as we walked arm in arm down the aisle
She smiled as I caught her eye
that moment so rare - was too much to bear
This hard man started to cry

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credits

from Wings of Gold, released November 1, 2020
Stephen Quigg: vocal, guitar, moothie
Pernille Quigg: vocal
Ian McCalman: guitar, bass

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The Quiggs Scotland, UK

The Quiggs are a Scottish/Danish folk duo consisting of the married couple Stephen and Pernille Quigg. Their preferred style of folk music keeps the accompaniment simple allowing the song to take centre stage. The duo has recorded 3 albums together and tour regular in the UK and Europe. ... more

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