There was coal-tip spoil from the miners’ toil
On a NE coastal beach
Where the North Sea riffs on the limestone cliffs
And the storm-tossed seagulls screech
Now the beach is clean and the scene serene
And the air is fresh to smell
And it’s home for all that can walk, fly, crawl
In a place where wildlife dwell
Chorus:
Where a young boy’s feet to a truncheon beat
Did a dance in the days of strife
There’s a wild reserve that will help conserve
Many different kinds of life
Oh in Easington where the work was done
In the troubled seams below
There’s an insect state where they copulate
As the North Sea winds do blow
Oh there’s life once more on the NE shore
Where the air will salt your tongue
And the plants abound on the wind-swept ground
And there’s creatures old & young
Where the hands were hard and the sands were scarred
There’s a place for life to dwell
Under brooding skies where the seagull cries
To a roar of an ocean swell
Chorus:
Well the seagull thrives as it swoops and dives
Round the cliffs like a dancing boy
And the waves roll in with a pounding din
In a place of wildlife joy
Let the future say in a far-off day
They were wise to play a role
For they brought back life where there once was strife
To the land of sea & coal
