The chorus of this song came to me years ago, as I was watching a small ship leaving the mouth of Milford Haven in heavy weather… It was only recently that I sang it to a friend, who demanded that I sit down and work out the full lyrics ASAP!
I completed it on 19th February. It had its first public performance on Wednesday just gone; I sang it unaccompanied and it was well received.
1
The mothers feed their families, and the families feed the pit,
Sending fathers and sons to hew the coal, deep beneath those streets.
Close above and close below, the story of their lives;
Always close to danger, to the fret of lovers and wives.
And when the hooter blows a certain way,
That night there are mothers who must say…
Chorus
Your father’s only half a mile away,
Your father’s only half a mile away;
He’s only half a mile away, but he won’t be home today –
Your father’s only half a mile away.
2
Barometer is falling fast – Coastguards hoist a cone;
Lighthouse guiding, fighting the tide the fishing fleet heads for home.
A maroon to launch a rescue, but scant the chances if
A drifter is in trouble close beneath the village cliff.
And when they meet the eyes of the lifeboat crew,
Certain mothers know what to do…
Chorus
3
Talk to a steelmaster, soon he will admit
That a furnace can court disaster as much as any pit:
Hardly a trace to ever be found of any man who’s caught
In the white hot blowback from a Bessemer retort.
And when Mother has answered the foreman’s knock,
She’ll gather her chicks though she’s crippled with shock…
Chorus
4
The higher that you climb, the harder you will fall:
It still holds true when the air glows blue in a power reactor hall.
Radiation has a special way with unforeseen events:
A fatal dose for everyone within the boundary fence.
When the message goes out to leave the town,
Before loading the car, sit the children down…
Your mother’s only half a mile away,
Your mother’s only half a mile away;
She’s only half a mile away, but she won’t be home today –
Your mother’s only half a mile away,
Your mother’s only half a mile away.
© Christopher Jessop 2022
