Mechanised Dreaming
"We Work the Black Seam" is a protest song recorded by British musician Sting for his 1985 debut solo album The Dream of the Blue Turtles, on which it is the longest track. Its lyrics express the position of the British coal miners who had been on strike during the year prior to the album's release, addressed to the Conservative government of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. They tell of the miners' deep attachment to their work and its importance to the country's economy and culture, alluding to William Blake's poem "And did those feet in ancient time", while criticising Thatcher's economic policies, particularly the effort to shift from coal to nuclear power as Britain's primary source of energy.