Alastair Hulett 1991
From 1947-1966, asbestos was mined in Wittenoom in Western Australia. In 2006 the process to close the town and declare a contamination zone began, but the last residents remained until 2022. As of 2024, 10% of the 20,000 mine workers and town residents had died of asbestos-related illness. The first lawsuit by a worker related to Mesothelioma against the companies operating asbestos mines was brought in 1977, the first successful claim in 1985, and during the late 1980s and early 1990s there were numerous court cases. Real regulations prohibiting asbestos were only enacted in the 1990s and a nationwide ban in 2003.
There’s a man in my bed I used to love him
His kisses used to take my breath away
There’s a man in my bed I hardly know him
I wipe his face and hold his hand
And watch him as he slowly fades away
Chorus:
And he fades away
Not like leaves that fall in autumn Turning gold against the grey
He fades away
Like the bloodstains on the pillow case That I wash every day
He fades away
There’s a man in my bed, he’s on a pension
Although he’s only fifty years of age
The lawyer says we might get compensation
In the course of due procedure
But he couldn’t say for certain at this stage
Bridge:
And he’s not the only one Who made that trip so many years ago
To work the Wittenoom mines So many young men old before their time And dying slow
They fade away
A wheezing bag of bones his Lungs half clogged and full of clay
They fade away
There’s a man in my bed they never told him
The cost of bringing home his weekly pay
And when the courts decide how much they owe him
How will he spend his money
When he lies in bed and coughs his life away?