Which Side Are You On?

[Jackpine Radical]

"Which Side Are You On?" is a song written by Florence Reece in 1931. She was the wife of a union organizer for the United Mine Workers in Harlan County, Kentucky. In 1931 the miners of that region were locked in a bitter and violent struggle with the mine owners. In an attempt to intimidate the Reece family, deputies hired by the mining company illegally entered and searched the Reece family home. Sam Reece had been warned in advance and escaped, but Florence and their children were terrorized in his place. That night, after the men had gone, Florence wrote the lyrics to "Which Side Are You On?" on a calendar that hung in the kitchen of her home. She took the melody from a traditional Baptist hymn, "Lay the Lily Low", or the traditional ballad "Jack Munro". Florence recorded the song and it can be heard on the CD Coal Mining Women.
Reece supported a second wave of miner strikes circa 1973, as recounted in the documentary Harlan County USA. She and others perform "Which Side Are You On?" a number of times throughout.

Come all of you good workers
Good news to you I'll tell
Of how that good old union
Has come in here to dwell

Chorus
Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?

My daddy was a miner
And I'm a miner's son
And I'll stick with the union
Till every battle's won

They say in Harlan County
There are no neutrals there
You'll either be a union man
Or a thug for J.H. Blair

Oh, workers can you stand it?
Oh, tell me how you can
Will you be a lousy scab
Or will you be a man?

Don't scab for the bosses
Don't listen to their lies
Us poor folks haven't got a chance
Unless we organize

French Translation (Gwénaël Forestier)

Venez vous tous, les bons ouvriers
j'ai de bonnes nouvelles à vous dire!
Comment va ce bonne vieux syndicat?
Je te dirais qu'il est là pour durer!

Choeur
De lequel le côté es tu?
De lequel le côté es tu?
De lequel le côté es tu?
De lequel le côté es tu?
Mon papa était un mineur
Et je suis le fils d'un mineur
Je resterai fidèle au syndicat
Jusqu'à ce que chaque bataille soit gagnée

Ils disent dans le Comté de Harlan
Qu'il n'y a personne de neutre ici
Vous, êtes vous un syndicaliste?
Ou, vous êtes, un voyou de la bande à J.H. Blair?

Oh, comment les ouvriers peuvent-ils vous supporter?
Oh, dites-moi comment vous le pouvez?
Êtes vous une vieille croûte?
Ou serez-vous des hommes?

Ne faites pas de boulot pour les patrons
N'écoutez pas leurs mensonges
Nous les pauvres gens, nous n'aurons aucune chance
Sans que nous nous organisions

[Arctic Dave]

1. Which side are you on!

[upi402]

2. film; Matewan ca. 1987

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/offering/list/-/B00005Y7R6/all
Rivals The Godfather for all time greats for me. I lent that film out so many times, until one time it didn't come back... lol. A must see, even if my Grandad wasn't a coalminer.

[Hardrada]

3. Great flick and evryone should see it.

[upi402]

5. James Earl Jones said it was one of his faves

and he's made a lot of films. A must see, IMHO.

[fishwax]

6. agreed -- great film

:thumbsup:

[Raksha]

4. A great labor song - thanks for posting the lyrics

and the story behind it. That's something I didn't know before.

[chill_wind]

7. K & R. n/t

[csziggy]

8. That is another piece to fit into my in-laws family history

My brother-in-law was descended from an immigrant from Austria-Hungary who came to the US around 1900. He joined his brother who was already working at a coal mine in Brookside, Alabama. The town where they had come from had an early form of organized labor - the town is known for the first metal workers guild in Europe and the idea of workers getting together to negotiate for better conditions and pay spread to the miners. They brought that tradition to the US with them.

Previously, the mine owners had used racial divides to play miners off against each other, but the influx of Eastern European miners changed the dynamics. In 1906 the Brookside miners held a successful strike, and again in 1920. But after the strike was settled in 1921, the mines never re-opened. Many of the miners ended up working in mines in Kentucky, a lot in Harlan County, Kentucky. Often the miners traveled to Kentucky to work and their families stayed in Brookside.

My brother-in-law's grandparents lived in Harlan County and he had relatives who died in the mines. I would not be at all surprised to find out they were involved in some of the strikes.

[Lugnut]

13. I'm a descendant of immigrants from Austria-Hungary.

Both of my grandfathers were anthracite coal miners as was my father. My husband is a UMWA coal miner. I live near the site of the Lattimer massacre as well as the area that was the birthplace of the Molly Maguires. It breaks my heart to see people having to re-fight the already won, so we thought, battles. :cry:

[csziggy]

16. My great grandfather was a miner from Wales

He worked in Pennsylvania for a while, then went to Northern Michigan and built supports for mine adits. He sent his son to college to become a mining engineer. One of the letters we have from him to his son talks about a mine strike.

I hate seeing this country go backwards. Workers rights, women's rights, child labor laws - all being attacked by the right wing nuts. I'm just waiting for them to bring back slavery or to start burning witches.

[akbacchus_BC]

9. on obama side and proud too!

[Modern_Matthew]

10. Something decent coming out of my state. Nice! n/t

[Jackpine Radical]

14. A good chunk of labor history came out of KY.

Soehow the state seems to have been "Kansased" in the intervening years.

[RainDog]

11. Solidarity Forever: Pete Seeger and The Weavers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYiKdJoSsb8

[Skip_In_Boulder]

12. However, I like this version better

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ0X59S_IGA

[blindpig]

15. Drop Kick Murphys

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKWfnO7fhQM

There are only two sides.

[Catherina]

17. Rec'd! Rebel Diaz

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Dr05tXktSo

[Mojeoux]

18. I went to Samuel Gompers Elementary in Detroit.

He was one of those people who actually fought company goons for Union Rights!!!

People can look at the ruins in Michigan to see how Union busting effects the communities.

[Mojeoux]

19. ON Wisconsin !!!!!!!!!! nt

[maryf]

20. sing it loud!

thanks!