The composition features the colliery Overman. He is the sole narrator and seen only once, early-on in film; thereafter, he is heard off-screen at strategic points in the description of the coalmining process. The Overman provides an authoritative voice and guidance, so that the viewer may understanding what they are witnessing on-screen.

'Plate 8: Overman (1930)' begins with an irregular rhythm of, what sounds like, hammering. Then, the Overman exclaims (like a street-trader or town crier) in synchronisation with this noise: ‘coal’ – which he repeats throughout the piece. Here, as in several other compositions, the voice (and, therefore, the personality and thought-forms) of the collier is subjugated to the rhythms of industry, which are, in turn, the patterns of capital production and the coal owners’ dictates.

The Overman extols coal obsessively and myopically, as though nothing else in the world matters like this matter. Thereafter, a second version of his voice takes centre stage. It provides a dislocated and truncated narrative – spoken with confidence, pride, and enthusiasm – that essentialises his four sequential descriptions of the processes and accoutrements of, and mechanisms for, extracting, selecting, washing, and dispatching coal.

Like the first voice, the second’s ‘libretto’ is constructed from units of repetition comprising different iterations of the same word, and related words, spoken by the Overman during the newsreel. The same word is often articulated in a slightly different pitch in different contexts. Therefore, when versions of the same are brought together to create a sequence, the words yield musicality. (This method of generating melodic passages was first deployed in ​'The Biblical Record' suite of compositions.)

Lyric
Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal
Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal
Elevated elevator; elevator
Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal
Elevated elevator, elevator
Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal
Special, special, special, lamp, lamp, lamp
Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal
Special, special, special, lamp, lamp, lamp
Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal
Tippler End, Tippler House
Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal
Tippler End, Tippler House
Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal
Screen, screen, screen, now, now, now
Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal
Screen, screen, screen, now, now, now
Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal
Picking belt, picking belt
Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal
Picking belt, picking belt
Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal
Pulsate, pulsation, pulsate
Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal
Pulsate, pulsation, pulsate
Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal
Pulsate, pulsation, pulsate
Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal
Pulsate, pulsation, pulsate
Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal

Elevated elevator; elevator
Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal
Elevated elevator; elevator
Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal
Special, special, special, lamp, lamp, lamp
Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal
Special, special, special, lamp, lamp, lamp
Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal
Tippler End, Tippler House, travelling, travelling
Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal
Tippler End, Tippler House, travelling, travelling
Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal
Screen, screen, screen, now, now, now
Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal
Screen, screen, screen, now, now, now
Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal
Picking belt, picking belt, clean, clean, clean
Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal
Picking belt, picking belt, clean, clean, clean
Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal
Pulsate, pulsation, pulsate
Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal
Pulsate, pulsation, pulsate
Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal
Pulsate, pulsation, pulsate
Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal
Pulsate, pulsation, pulsate
Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal

Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal
Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal
Coal, coal, coal, coal
Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal
Coal, coal, coal, coal
Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal
Small coal, small coal, small, small, small
Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal
Small coal, small coal, small, small, small
Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal
Large, large, large, mesh, mesh, mesh
Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal
Large, large, large, mesh, mesh, mesh
Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal
Screen, screen, screen, shale, shale, shale, shale
Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal
Screen, screen, screen, shale, shale, shale, shale
Coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal, coal.