We Work The Black Seam (lyrics)

The lyrics to We Work The Black Seam by Sting.
This is what Sting has to say in his lyrics book:
"The 1984 Miner's Strike in Britain disintegrated into a personality clash between the Prime Minister, Mrs. Thatcher, and the miners' union leader, Arthur Scargill. As I was raised in a mining community, I felt not a little sympathy for the miners, whose way of life was being threatened, and also had some serious concerns about the safety of the nuclear power stations the government was putting such faith in. Of course, neither source of power is ideal, but that would be another song" (Sting 107).
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[@dragonblogger]

It is a fantastic song from one of the most poetic song writers of our time.

[@joebrownell3738]

..and that's his chosen profession was to be a teacher... ... ...great song.

[@stone1andonly]

Raised in West Virginia, keenly aware of the state's dependence on the coal industry and constantly appalled with it's abuses of workers and regulations, and also very frightened with what I see in the American nuclear power system. This song never fails to make me tear up a little. One of Sting's most insightful songs, at least to me.

[@Auntkekebaby]

One of my fav Sting songs. Lyrics were on time and the composition is BEAUTIFUL!!! One of our greatest writers and composers.

[@snokful]

"We walk through ancient forest lands, and light a thousand cities with our hands" Damn Sting is desperately up himself, but he has a definite way with words.

[@OpethObsession]

25 years later... hauntingly perfect.

[@joebrownell3738]

...from an English major - "AIN"T IT" ... .... ...period!

[@BLUESMANRONCHICAGO]

what a great song, great lyrics by a writer who got better and better after leaving the Police and showing his talents in all types of songs, Children's Crusade is another classis from this album

[@lfcforever67]

Way ahead of his time this man superb talent what an album by the way

[@ZOMusik]

Genius Writer.

[@stratboy518]

Here’s a slight rework of the chorus: Deadly for Twelve thousand years is COVID-19. We work the black seam together. 5/14/2020. 😷

[@tinfoilhatter]

the black seam, means to me, we're tryin' to fill the gaps in our understanding, but the so-called scientific methods and thinkin', are gonnabe what's deadly, not some so-called virus or so-called isotope, man~

[@bookofblue]

He manages to do this without the feeling of "making a statement" -- it's necessary to take a poetic and slightly oblique approach to do this. The line, "One day in the nuclear age..." resounds through the eons

[@tinfoilhatter]

i daresay, he was already anticipating a 'new clear age'~

[@ochoriostube]

Loved Sting since I was in school.... Ocho Rios Jamaica.

[@cactustree505]

Although it was written decades ago, it's so timely as the US moves toward coal and nuclear power with very little renewable energy production on the large scale that needs to be done. Sting's words, 'your economic theory makes no sense' is true when we look at the total expense involved in coal & nuclear power not just the bottom line of each fiscal year or quarter. Medical costs, clean up cost, etc...sad, but this song may be truer today than in '84

[@delbroox]

Wonderful songs. the whole "the dream of the blue turtle" has very deep lyrics and beautiful music as well. Perfect work

[@joebrownell3738]

AGREE

[@PurnimaThakerDhorajiwalapRTd]

today...once again i sang this beautiful and my very very favorite song...along with the lyrics provided...simply love to sing. thanks so very much.

[@PurnimaThakerDhorajiwalapRTd]

thanks Gary

[@PurnimaThakerDhorajiwalapRTd]

very beautiful and ,melodious song...

[@wamcalif5]

One of my favorites from MTV days. Sting surrounded himself with some bad azz Jazz players (Kenny Kirkland, Branford Marsalis, Omar Hakim, Darryl Jones).

[@tinfoilhatter]

sting's bands matter! more than pounds, and pence! and some communists' and other economic theories never made no sense! haha!

[@damirzugec6456]

The sign of great people is that they do their best to surround themselves with the best people available. Cowards and incompetents surround themselves with their inferiors, to look better in comparison.

[@jessicahartman3453]

I 💘d "Bring On The Night". My favorite scene was when Trudie gave birth to her and Sting's son and later on you see in the credits: "And introducing Jake Sumner".

[@mariel15867]

the developing countries are suffering more than others. The Brazil has a great economic development, but the people did this well. Much more than by 84. Sting is a visionary man

[@spudeleven5124]

My g*d this is great. What a wonderful song. I hear endless, harsh toil, and quiet dignity.

[@anthonyvereen2694]

music for the soul and words to the wise... sting is one of our best.....

[@joebrownell3738]

.....great song about insanity in this day and age .... .... ...much love!!

[@cranstonfranc]

How prophetic this was, miners crushed, unions crushed, and most of us didn’t care-at the time. We care now, because we’ll all be out of work very soon.

[@PurnimaThakerDhorajiwalapRTd]

@yetiflicker i agree with you...it is a beautiful song depicting the plight of those who lose their jobs, business and sometimes lives....for want of money, employment...productivity...Ah life..Ah recession...it hurts.

[@aries4961]

i've loved Sting since i heard "Fall Out".....remember that one w/the Police? Also he isnt bad on the eyes either(:

[@ourluxor]

I don't want to see men struggling to make a living miles underground in dangerous conditions, and I too was brought up in a mining community. But Sting's reference to poisoned streams in Cumberland has nothing to do with coal mining, they were contaminated by the Windscale Nuclear Plant! Better versions of this song have been recorded by folk singers like Hex, Swan Arcade, and I think, The Wilsons.

[@tess.horine]

I love this song! 🎉😊

[@joebrownell3738]

...me too.

[@PurnimaThakerDhorajiwalapRTd]

love it...love it...love it......

[@joebrownell3738]

...amnesty...much love, Sting!

[@joebrownell3738]

...and don't forget it... ... ... ...we're all in this together...treat others as you would like to be treated... .... ...and watch how things change... ... ... ...much love.

[@jeanmarie40]

magnifique chanson

[@LukaArsenalSerbia]

most of the people don't know, but the melody in the verse is from the song "Savage beast". "Savage beast" is Stings song from Last exit, better know as Sting' band before The Police.... "Savage beast" is a really great song...

[@Muz4J]

Just hear this song at school, it´s a song were you totally understand what miners have to go trough with.! :D

[@maygoodcometous1]

RIP. The world has lost...Be well...

[@ejflesher]

@comfortablynumb42195 I haven't heard this song in years and I just decided to look up some of my favorite Sting songs and I thought the same thing. Such a sad fact that the fears in this song have come to full baring. I got a lump in my throat thinking of those who still fight to make their lives whole again in the Japan. My best wishes to all the strong and determined people of Japan.

[@dudleytundish3585]

Carbon 14 occurs naturally along with many other radioisotopes. Of approximately 50 metric tons present on earth at any time perhaps 1.5% is present in the atmosphere, while the balance is tied up in solid form of one sort or another. When it decays, it does so by beta decay, emitting an electron, which is a relatively low energy form of radioactivity, unlike gamma decay. The result is ordinary nonradioactive nitrogen of the most abundant isotope. Long story short: carbon 14 is pretty near trivial in the grand scheme of things.

[@TheMysticHours]

He should have said "Deadly for a million years is nuclear waste".

[@tinfoilhatter]

so it's not the carbon fourteen that's deadly, it's the scientism and its wrong-thinkin' that's gonnabe the death of us, man! that was a clue! he knew carbon-14 ain't deadly, it was just a metaphor for scientism: the faith-based , illogical belief in science as a secular 'religion' to the masses, the profane!

[@PrettyBluePeople]

@swami1 That's not the point. It's not about how many people died or how many people benefit from it...it's about how bad it is for the environment - the song says it all. At least that's what I think Sting is trying to say.

[@tinfoilhatter]

carbon fourteen, ain't what's deadly, but our so-called scientific methods of thinkin', is what's deadly, man!

[@whenhen]

My european history teacher just played this song to demonstrate the feelings that the artisinal class had during the industrial revolution, and the impact of laisse faire capitalism had on the middle class. Powerful stuff. Thanks weasleking for clarifying the intended meaning of this song.

[@peterkatsis-fc8mn]

My favorite song from sting's solo career

[@mimikonrad9007]

Aww, ich liebe das Lied so sehr^^ Wir singen es bei den Pfadfindern und es ist einfach toll

[@rgd37]

Great song, sadly though it was coal that added to global warming, no win for either side. But Love Sting forever.

[@MrRobpob]

I like this song

[@faustinagatta4664]

Amo moltissimo questo brano.....♥️

[@joneslt]

9 years before this song was recorded Sting recorded a song called "Savage Beast" with a band called Last Exit. This vocal melody is a carbon copy of that one. Check out the original if you have a chance.

[@GutenTag7777]

The song criticizes nuclear energy for obvious reasons. At first it seems Sting defends coal but then he talks about all the poisoned streams in Cumberland. Coal is the dirtiest of all the energy sources but nuclear after 3 Mile Island, Chernobyl, and finally Japan is not so great either.

[@zmw4723]

Actually, there was a nuclear disaster in Seascale, Cumbria back in the 50's. That's what he's referring to when he sings "You can't exchange a six-inch band for all the poison streams in Cumberland." So he's asking from the perspective of the coal miners at the time, how can you trade nuclear contaminated streams for a six-inch band of coal underground? Why are we losing our jobs for that?

[@jojosiojo]

a nice way of sharing a song, great lyrics

[@sasje19995]

i need to play this song on school now but i love it !!!!!

[@WeaselKing1000]

@mpinstei Oh and I'm not sure if you know, but the 'poisoned streams in Cumberland' refers to the Windscale (now called Sellafield) nuclear plant in Cumberland (now part of Cumbria) in north-west England. Just that you gave the impression you thought Sting was referring to the runoff from coal-mining; actually this was a criticism of nuclear power. I sound patronising...I'm sorry!

[@dannymcneill]

Thanks for that - this song will always remind me of Scottish bothies, whisky, Malcolm, Allan and Jim.

[@Paganguy1]

Kevin Joyce, and Carrol Andre make excellent points. Ultimately, coal is bad. But, it employs people who can feed their children because of good paying jobs that don't need expensive college educations. In most coal producing places the choice is digging coal or flipping burgers. Or selling meth. Still, digging coal pays better without the threat of prison. So, do you eliminate their jobs and starve their children for a better environment?

[@zenbudhism]

No you provide better jobs

[@spiceC]

My husband Ray past this was one of his favorite songs miss you love

[@nagendraprasad-ew3mp]

The Poem/Song is as simple as Some of Shakespeare's Lines from one of his Sonnets. VICTORY WITHOUT SURVIVORS IS WASTE. TIME IS SLUTTISH. PEN IS MORE POWERFUL THAN THE SWORDS. MAN CREATED GAS AND FIRE WARS. NOT MARBLE NOR GILDED MONUMENTS CAN LIVE. YOUR LIVING RECORD SPEAKS. Great song/poem Beautiful music and composition

[@misterx4757]

Poetic, tragic. True 😢

[@ksjoyjespeace]

GO BACK TO STING'S BAND BEFORE THE POLICE;CHECK OUT "LAST EXIT" 1974/5 : "SAVAGE BEAST" ; THIS SONG GOES BACK OVER 10 YEARS!!!!!! COOL BOTH VERSIONS!!!!!

[@PurnimaThakerDhorajiwalapRTd]

hi, i want the karaoke for this very song any idea where will i find it? I love this song and would like to record it, in my voice

[@EfrainQuihuis]

and now with whats happening in Japan, you realize the coal miners were right and justified in their protests....

[@joebrownell3738]

...SAD BUT TRUE...ty.

[@EfrainQuihuis]

@KAMTxInferior now that you mention it..it really does!

[@carrolandre304]

Coal built the industrial revolution and modern societies, It was dirty extremely dirty, It provided a whole way of life with lots of off shoots. All governments need power, including Capitalist, Communist and Socialist countries. Infrastructures come and go but not without a fight. People do not change unless they see their present actions as being painful. Are we willing to change and go through any upheaval to our present ways of life and infrastructures, any more today than when this song was first penned? If you think about all the investments of time energy, money, people power infrastructure I wonder?

[@PurnimaThakerDhorajiwalapRTd]

this song also co-insides with the present scenario ...hence i inter-related one with the other in my comment....

[@WeaselKing1000]

Does anybody know what the 'six-inch band' is a reference to? Presumably something technical related to coal-mining but what exactly?

[@MrRobpob]

We are, after all, sophistimacatid people

[@yoshimisang3317]

I tought that's today there's a thin line between foscils and clean enegy it's use to be the point to consider about the sensitve on both of appointment!

[@WeaselKing1000]

@mpinstei Thanks! Of course I forgot my dad's an honorary member of the NUM or something! So he told me it must mean that as well, though he thought 6 inches was a bit narrow to be feasibly mined. Cheers :)

[@winterchronic]

Being about the death of the coal mining industry in the UK... actually on balance though Nuclear power probably is a more ecologically sound prospect than fossil fuels. oh wait. this song rocks.

[@TheMysticHours]

Anyone care to take a shot at interpreting the line, "When you have sunk without a trace, the universe will suck me into place"?

[@swami1]

@nomadrat How many people died at Three Mile Island?

[@MrRobpob]

Does 'carbon 14' actually mean anything or is it just sung so the song would rhyme?

[@gallop1963]

心にしみる

[@Blackroom502]

"All the poisoned streams in Cumberland"......

[@Super26021962]

Blinded by the development of the nuclear power we are racing towards our own distruction with one way ticket to the great hole.

[@tinfoilhatter]

not only that, but science itself, possibly has things wrong, which can be more deadly than any isotope known to man, man~

[@nuwayser]

I came here after reading chapter 3 of “Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt” by Hedges and Sacco.

[@MrRobpob]

Don't they use Carbon 14 for carbon dating; seeing how much it's decayed?

[@MrRobpob]

Thanks

[@changingman2001]

Where was he when the coal industry in the UK was actually being destroyed by Thatcher. Bragg, Weller et al were campaigning and donating. Mr Sumner's absence when it actually mattered makes his comments here a mixture of historical sentimentalism and masks his role at that time as an aoplogist for Thatcher

[@tinfoilhatter]

we matter more than pounds and pence...we!

[@tinfoilhatter]

yeah, and the economic theories make no sense, yeah, yeah... one day, in a new, clear age, then they *may*, understand our rage~

[@hiraethchild]

@cosmicrider287 me too, and I'm also thinking of how we humans don't deserve this planet.

[@MrRobpob]

Well, by reading the other comments, I found the answer!

[@garyn1953]

Fukashima ... :-|

[@GalapagosInsel]

we listened to this song in our physic-lesson.... when i herad it, i thought: this one you must search at youtube XD sorry for my bad english

[@charleskafka]

it's bombs become cheap and clean. .

[@TheMysticHours]

"Power's to become cheap and clean." He's comparing coal power to nuclear power. "Your dark, Satanic mills" refers to nuclear power plants, which practice what must seem like dark magic to those who don't understand it. Nuclear power is much cheaper and cleaner, regarding air and water polution, but the waste is deadly for thousands of years.

[@tinfoilhatter]

@@TheMysticHours grimy faces were never seen, meaning, we were supposed to be elevated by science, but science-gone-wrong, is potentially more deadly than any isotope, right?

[@marinamarina5661]

thanks to english file advanced.

[@janetalvarado6557]

What is carbon 14?

[@Godprofile]

We work together seam against addiction oneday seem there no more aspire

[@tinfoilhatter]

to me, it means, we're tryin' to fill gaps in our understanding, even in terms of the lyrics of a little old song, or in big things like 'scientific dating' methods, or 'scientific' so-called 'virology', who never seem to have to prove anything, and which could be wrong, have we not heard that decay rates have been shown to change sometimes?

[@WeaselKing1000]

@mpinstei No worries, I guessed it referred just to the height :)

[@swami1]

So Sting is singing in support of coal? Not a very consistent stance for such an avowed environmentalist.

[@tinfoilhatter]

clean, beautiful coal, is a thing of beauty! compared with some deadly isotope, or some metaphor for science-gone-mad, namely this unproven virology, eugenics, and whatnot, now bein' foisted upon us, man!

[@nicholasgoodrum5481]

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@yoshimisang3317]

I tought Mr.Al Gore have scence of lots more about this!

[@fedayachild07]

hey du auch pfadfinder? cool ich versuchs grade zu lernen, damit ichs meiner gruppe beibringen kann :)

[@KAMTxInferior]

does this song remind anyone of zelda? from gorons mountain area :P

[@Godprofile]

Nothing only there released

[@ImShaynee]

Meanwhile on your iPod, you probably have the latest Justin Beiber and 2 Chainz albums.

[@TyreTim]

@swami1 Some might suggest he is more geared towards the social impact of the policies adopted by Reagan and in particular Thatcher. We live in a world where governments should be for the benefit of the people. Putting profit before human beings lives has created the disparity of wealth we see now in modern society. Thatcher and her henchman Ian McGregor tore the heart out of communties all around Britain who had gave so much to create the Country she had the priveledge to govern.

[@ERTLPFM]

... I don't even.

[@PurnimaThakerDhorajiwalapRTd]

I am singing

[@polux644]

no me gusta

[@hermanp.delacruz1223]

the ruined dream of the blue turtle!

[@00100000station]

To be fair this is a terrible, terrible way to sing a good song. I prefer Swan Arcade's version which is sung in tradition folk close harmonies and isn't utterly decimated by awful synths. Thumbs up for CT. Sorry.

[@TheMysticHours]

Ummm... you do realize Sting wrote this song, don't you?

[@tinfoilhatter]

it was supposed to sound post-modern, gloomy, industrial, (before there was any such thing called 'industrial', by the way)

[@LittleLulubee]

The album came out in ‘85- it was the era of synth. But unlike the typical pop bands of the time, this added that jazzy sound, which made it sound way more unique and sophisticated.

[@170358Chris]

This is a TERRIBLE song!!! SO BORING!!!!!!

[@TheMysticHours]

Perhaps, if you're an uneducated twit who doesn't care about the plight of other people or our environment or our future, this song is boring. Go off and listen to songs about sex instead.

[@tinfoilhatter]

@@TheMysticHours sting said, he needs an audience to work hard at deciphering his lyrics, that was a major clue, very early on!