In eighteen hundred and seventy-one
The mineworkers’ union in Durham was young
In Durham City the cobbles first rung
To the sound of Durham Big Meeting
In eighteen hundred and eighty three
Marching together in unity
Mother’s of sons and the wives of the mine
Carried their banners the very first time
Chorus:
Robert Saint’s Gresford*** in trembling brass
Is played where the saints are remembered in glass
From Hebburn to heaven the victims of gas
Go marching at Durham Big Meeting
Might earns to right to a future respect
And silence is midwife to a future regret
Truth never changes and unions protect
Says the voice of The Durham Big Meeting
United in purpose - pole and rope
Banners of protest - banners of hope
Selfless ideals never perish in flame
They rise like a bird from ashes again
Chorus:
Durham Big Meeting is not about shows
The boozing and the fighting or any of those
Durham Big Meeting down where the Wear flows
Was a coalfield in search of Jerus’lem
Lest we forget - reflect on the past
Banners are colours nailed to the mast
Woven in silk are words that recall
Injustice to one is concern to us all
