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Let me tell you about my town, Beamish.

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I used to share a room with me two older brothers.

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We were a noisy group.

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We'd drive me ma mad because we'd spend the whole night laughing and telling stories.

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I remember the smell of fresh bread coming out the oven.

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It still makes me feel hungry just thinking about it.

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There were five of us in our house.

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Dad and me brothers all worked down the pit all day.

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I wasn't a bad lad, just a bit of a worky ticket.

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Me teacher was strict with me and me mates,

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especially with me

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I remember one day I thought it would be a good laugh

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if I put a pin on my teacher's chair

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it wasn't so funny when I tried to do a runner out of the open window

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and he caught a hold of us

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after that he hit the back of my hand with his ruler

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now that brings a tear to your eye

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but not as much as going to church on Sunday morning

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the place I hate most is the pit

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it's so dark you can't even see your hand in front of you

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and the roof's so low

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you've got to clamber around on your hands and knees

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the pit ponies are trekked better than us

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mind, they're more valuable

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I once heard my dad saying

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that it's the nearest place to hell on earth

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I've always been afraid of the pit

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I think about it every time

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I shut my eyes at night

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ever since my older brother Jack

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went off to work

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he never came back

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mind, at least there were three more blokes

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of working age in the house

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but my story's just one of many