Dirty Gold

Imagine it a family of five
And no wages coming in
No government help
No aid at all
And already they all are thin

The only work is hazardous work
Gold mining day on day
Underwater I forgot that point
For thats the only way

Along the precious gold coast
In the Philippines today
A father and his children
Have to try and pay

A deep hole into the river
A plastic tube for air
Wind it around your body
And its in your mouth
Be aware

any kink or piece of mud
Could block the airway and
That would be the end of you
As All now understand

Drop thirty feet
And start to dig the mud and rock below
And bring it up and pan for it
Look for that golden glow

Working in those tunnels
Tapping bits away
If the lot fell in on you
There really is no way

Of escaping what would be horrible
Engulfed in mud and slime
And this is what they are doing
Yes time after time

Then panning for the fragments
And using mercury
As a glue to stick the fragments
Together so they see

Bigger bits to sell to those
Who buy it and then sell
Thats why they call it dirty
Its, as dangerous as hell

They cannot go to school at all
When there is money to be made
Just enough to feed the family
After it is weighed

Their makeshift rig of bamboo
And palm leaves holds the shaft
Its very very dangerous
And altogether daft

Its known as compressor mining
Its illegal thats for sure
But its the only way to eke out a crust
And of course the actual law

Turn a blind eye to it all
Because otherwise they might
Have to pay for food for them
And they don’t see that as right

Looking into their faces
Tears are their for grabs
They work so hard and so rigorously
And its earned in dribs and drabs

Very tiny wages
and death could actually be
Any day and it happens
It happens tragically

There but for fortune
Any of us could be in a hole
Searching for fragments of dirty gold
And exchanging it for soul