We Work The Black Seam (lyrics)

[Prashmee]

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

[Prashmee]

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

[Super26021962]

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

[juliekstroup]

I sent this song to my Dad who is a Phd Chemist and inventor. He told me it was correct years ago and still is now in theme. He said that one of the sorrows of his generation would be the mess left for those coming after. He died yesterday and I will miss him.

[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.

[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.

[oyashirazu23]

Not Available on Mobile...　:'(

[Prashmee]

very beautiful and ,melodious song...

[cosmicrider287]

i`m thinking of current events in japan when listening to this song.

[hiraethchild]

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

[theonetruebeast]

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

[Dogote82]

energy of any kind is dangerous. wind shreds birds, oil polutes the ocean, nuclear kills.. everything.... someone mentioned Tesla once... but i dont know much about that to comment. its not really a matter of whats cleanest/cheapest... its basically "pick your poison"... then again we could all do without, live in the dark ages, use candles to read by.

What IS the right answer? i surely dont know and neither does Sting apparently. how does he power his home? what does he drive? what fuel?

[DominoRyder]

Sting knows America so well despite being a Brit. Its fucking sad my America has been taken over by Tea Partier/pro industrialists.

[muziekbericht]

Saw Stin two times during the tour in Rotterdam, Hollanda  and Genk, Belgica

[halocrap360]

a song writing master del dublin

[gallop1963]

心にしみる

[KAMTxInferior]

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

[theonetruebeast]

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

[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!!!!!

[seanburdine]

One of my favorite songs. Sting has a conscience and he uses big themes in his music. And *of course* Ms. Thatcher mishandled the situation, she's the British equivalent of a Republican. They're just as brainless in England as they are here.

[swami1]

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

[nomadrat]

Nuclear energy is not clean energy..it creats nuclear, radio active waste. Way worse than coal, if you ask me. Remember the term "China Syndrome"? Remember Chernobyl? Three Mile Island? I don't understand the people these days who claim to care about the health of our planet, pushing for more nuclear power plants and calling it 'clean efficient, energy'. It is efficieent..but with a big price..and it arguably the most toxic form of energy production of them all.

[swami1]

@nomadrat How many people died at Three Mile Island?

[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.

[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.

[dragonblogger]

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

[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

[OpethObsession]

25 years later... hauntingly perfect.

[zeravlanavi]

> It is amazing, it seems he is talking about our current economy here in the USA.

[mirperm]

thank you for the lyrics!

[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).

[idletask]

@wamcalif5 Yep, that's why his two albums are the best he ever made imho. There was the music, there was the lyrics.

Pity it went somewhat downwards after that :(

[msOctober12]

STING IS a sexy genius with MAD skills!!!!

[spiceC]

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

[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...

[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

[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.

[WeaselKing1000]

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

[mpinstei]

@WeaselKing1000 your right, it refers to a vein of coal that can run for miles, sometimes as thin as 6 inches. the reason why it's so destructive is because chasing that vein has many environmental consequences i.e. runoff into streams etc... Could someone explain to me clean coal technology? How is hilltopping a viable resolution to our energy problems?

[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 :)

[mpinstei]

I was thinking about this last night and I feel I was a little vague... I don't want you to think the "6 inch ban" is 6 inches by 6 inches. Like soil layers, the ban may be half a foot tall but run for miles in all directions similar to the water I just knocked onto the floor! ugh!

[WeaselKing1000]

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

[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!

[jonhansen100]

There was a killer remix from 1993 of this song on Sting's website jukebox. The jukebox was revised to promote the Winter Album. Now I really miss the remix of this. Sure would love to have it in my playlist. If anybody has it I'll be looking for it.Thanks in advance.

[MrRobpob]

We are, after all, sophistimacatid people

[waldom1234567891]

This is pretty high level commentary compared with what one usually finds on the internet! How refreshing! And what a beautiful song ...

[delbroox]

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

[idletask]

I just couldn't agree more. And on top of this, he has gathered great musicians around him. And it shows.

This and his second album were the best he has ever done. That's a pity he didn't maintain this greatness later on...

[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.

[MrRobpob]

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

[MrRobpob]

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

[jojosiojo]

a nice way of sharing a song, great lyrics

[MrRobpob]

Thanks

[MrRobpob]

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

[liebchenXO]

carbon 14 is a radioactive form of carbon... the "12,000 years" bit i think is a referance to the half-life of this isotope being roughly 5700 years, so after 12000 the radiation would be mostly spent...

if i'm wrong, i'm sorry...

[Ephesians1957]

Very Bright person and kind . Thanks

[liebchenXO]

^_^ just glad that my geology professor had recently gone over this, or i'd have been just as puzzled by the line as you were...

[TheTatterdemalion2]

The problem is that while the song addresses nuclear power, Carbon 14 isn't used to generate energy. It actually occurs naturally in all organisms. That's why it's used in the radiometric dating of fossils.

[liebchenXO]

perhapse it references just that- the human element being what's dangerous?

[Millst0ne]

Carbon-14, 14C, or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon discovered on February 27, 1940, by Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben at the University of California Radiation Laboratory in Berkeley, though its existence had been suggested already in 1934 by Franz Kurie.[2] Its nucleus contains 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic materials is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method to date archaeological, geological, and hydrogeological samples.

[fedayachild07]

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

[Monrosefreak91094]

we (scouts) sing that too. it's really great!

[theMostRadical]

Despite this and other protest songs, people still dump nuclear waste. It's so obvious that there are lots of solutions to store the nuclear waste in more secure places, but that would cost too much. And that's the major reason to NOT store it in secure places. The nuclear power plants risk peoples lives for money. Could you believe that???

[MrRobpob]

I like this song

[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

[cgaim]

How refreshing to enjoy lyrics that are actually coherent and thought-provoking. Thanks, Sting.

[sasje19995]

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

[whielden]

Best track on the album because of Branford Marsalis...

[dannymcneill]

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

[xblackXGothXHamutaro]

hihihihihihihihihihi

[yetiflicker]

fantastic song thanks for posting, and the lyrics say so much in todays drive towards nuclear power, anyone who can remember the miners strikes of the 80`s will understand how we threw away millions of tonnes of power and threw thousands of hard working men onto the scrapheap. good post prettybluepeople.

[Prashmee]

@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.