James Hardie ("Hardies") was an Australian company which, among other pursuits, engaged for decades in the mining of asbestos - continuing long after the company became aware that the substance could be fatal for those who came in contact with it. In order to avoid its potential liability to employees and others who had contracted diseases such as asbestosis and mesithelioma, Hardies transferred assets to Holland. This song is dedicated to the memory of Bernie Banton who championed the fight for Hardies' workers to receive their compensation. Bernie sadly passed away as a result of an asbestos related disease.

Lyrics

Crawling around in the hot dark stopes
Sifting through rubble, bent over double
They’re down on their knees in the darkness
Searching for blue veins of profit or death
I guess it depends where you stand

For the Kooris from up Baryulgal way
Requests for protection, were met with rejection
Profits derived from the Bundjalung blood
Dust raining down on their faces like mud
Just what do the shareholders share

Nobody mention the Factories Report
Don’t worry about warnings
Just take the earnings

Cos they were hardy men, but they were Hardie’s Men,
And their loyalty and trust were ground into dust
Like the dust that will be their end
And as their lesions grow, well the profits still flow
To those boardroom boys and their Bavarian toys
But now they flow - to Amsterdam

Stooping for hours at that lethal belt
Sifting through waste as the dust cakes their faces
Sweeping a floor that will never be clean
Dust raining down where the broom has just been
Like Sysiphus called to the mountain

Each single breath brings them closer to death
Don’t worry about “just”
Weigh the dust

They were hardy men, but they were Hardie’s Men,
And their loyalty and trust was just ground into dust
Like the dust that will be their end
And as their lesions grow, well the profits still flow
To those boardroom boys and their Bavarian toys
But now they flow - to Amsterdam

Gasping for air through a “portapak”
Another mate gone, the memories flood back
Rasping and hacking and coughing up blood
How crook must you be to die?

They were hardy men, but they were Hardie’s Men,
And their loyalty and trust was just ground into dust
Like the dust that will be their end
And as their lesions grow, well the profits still flow
To those boardroom boys and their Bavarian toys
But now they go to Amsterdam

But they were hardy men, but they were Hardie’s Men,
And their loyalty and trust was just ground into dust
Like the dust that will be their end
But they’ll let Hardies know that these men of snow
Won’t give up the fight to achieve their rights
Even though you’ve gone - to Amsterdam