I found the motherlode of union songs!!! AUDIO Check it out!!

[Generic Other]

1. Yeh, this one's for the workers who toil night and day
By hand and by brain to earn your pay
Who for centuries long past for no more than your bread
Have bled for your countries and counted your dead.

2. In the factories and mills, in the shipyards and mines,
We've often been told to keep up with the times,
For our skills are not needed, they've streamlined the job,
And with sliderule and stopwatch our pride they have robbed.

Chorus:
We're the first ones to starve, we're the first ones to die,
The first ones in line for that pie-in-the-sky.
And we're always the last when the cream is shared out,
For the worker is working when the fat cat's about.

3. And when the sky darkens and the prospect is war,
Who's given a gun and then pushed to the fore,
And expected to die for the land of our birth,
Though we've never owned one lousy handful of earth?

4. All of these things the worker has done,
From tilling the fields to carrying the gun.
We've been yoked to the plough since time first began,
And always expected to carry the can.


AUDIO of this and many many more!!!
http://www.labornotes.org/node/1500

[Generic Other]

1. Talking Union -- Pete Seeger

If you want higher wages, let me tell you what to do;
You got to talk to the workers in the shop with you;
You got to build you a union, got to make it strong,
But if you all stick together, now, 'twont he long.
You'll get shorter hours,
Better working conditions.
Vacations with pay,
Take your kids to the seashore.

It ain't quite this simple, so I better explain
Just why you got to ride on the union train;
'Cause if you wait for the boss to raise your pay,
We'll all be waiting till Judgment Day;
We'll all he buried - gone to Heaven -
Saint Peter'll be the straw boss then.

Now, you know you're underpaid, hut the boss says you ain't;
He speeds up the work till you're 'bout to faint,
You may he down and out, but you ain't beaten,
Pass out a leaflet and call a meetin'
Talk it over - speak your mind -
Decide to do something about it.

'Course, the boss may persuade some poor damn fool
To go to your meeting and act like a stool;
But you can always tell a stool, though - that's a fact;
He's got a yellow streak running down his back;
He doesn't have to stool - he'll always make a good living
On what he takes out of blind men's cups.

You got a union now; you're sitting pretty;
Put some of the boys on the steering committee.
The boss won't listen when one man squawks.
But he's got to listen when the union talks.
He better -
He'll be mighty lonely one of these days.

Suppose they're working you so hard it's just outrageous,
They're paying you all starvation wages;
You go to the boss, and the boss would yell,
"Before I'd raise your pay I'd see you all in Hell."
Well, he's puffing a big see-gar and feeling mighty slick,
He thinks he's got your union licked.
He looks out the window, and what does he see
But a thousand pickets, and they all agree
He's a bastard - unfair - slave driver -
Bet he beats his own wife.

Now, boy, you've come to the hardest time;
The boss will try to bust your picket line.
He'll call out the police, the National Guard;
They'll tell you it's a crime to have a union card.
They'll raid your meeting, hit you on the head.
Call every one of you a goddamn Red -
Unpatriotic - Moscow agents -
Bomb throwers, even the kids.

But out in Detroit here's what they found,
And out in Frisco here's what they found,
And out in Pittsburgh here's what they found,
And down in Bethlehem here's what they found,
That if you don't let Red-baiting break you up,
If you don't let stool pigeons break you up,
If you don't let vigilantes break you up,
And if you don't let race hatred break you up -
You'll win. What I mean,
Take it easy - but take it!



http://www.labornotes.org/node/2037

[malaise]

2. Lovely

K & R

[Generic Other]

3. Which Side Are You On? -- Guy Carawan

If you don't want your husband to die in the coal mine,
I'll see you in the morning out on the picket line.

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

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

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

Don't scab for the bosses, don't listen to their lies.
People haven't got a chance unless they organize.

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

Come all of you good people, good news to you I'll tell.
How the Miners Union has come in here to dwell.

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

You don't want your husband to die in the coal mine,
I'll see you in the morning out on the picket line.

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


http://www.labornotes.org/node/1385

[Generic Other]

4. "Have You Been To Jail For Justice?" -- Anne Feeney

Was it Cesar Chavez? Maybe it was Dorothy Day
Some will say Dr. King or Gandhi set them on their way
No matter who your mentors are it's pretty plain to see
That, if you've been to jail for justice, you're in good company

Have you been to jail for justice? I want to shake your hand
Cause sitting in and lyin' down are ways to take a stand
Have you sung a song for freedom? or marched that picket line?
Have you been to jail for justice? Then you're a friend of mine

You law abiding citizens, come listen to this song
Laws were made by people, and people can be wrong
Once unions were against the law, but slavery was fine
Women were denied the vote and children worked the mine
The more you study history the less you can deny it
A rotten law stays on the books til folks like us defy it

The law's supposed to serve us, and so are the police
And when the system fails, it's up to us to speak our peace
It takes eternal vigilancefor justice to prevail
So get courage from your convictions
Let them haul you off to jail!

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

[Generic Other]

5. Union Maid -- Dar Williams

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCG8PSKpA_I&feature=related

[Generic Other]

12. Mavis Staple - We Shall Not Be Moved

We Shall Not Be Moved

We shall not, we shall not be moved
We shall not, we shall not be moved
Just like a tree that's standing by the river
We shall not be moved.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbOQhyuKifw&feature=related

[Generic Other]

15. Banks of Marble - by Pete Seeger

The Banks are Made of Marble
A Song by Les Rice©Stormking Music 1950

I've traveled round this country
From shore to shining shore
It really made me wonder
The things I heard and saw.

I saw the weary farmer
Plowing sod and loam
l heard the auction hammer
A knocking down his home

But the banks are made of marble
With a guard at every door
And the vaults are stuffed with silver
That the farmer sweated for

l saw the seaman standing
Idly by the shore
l heard the bosses saying
Got no work for you no more

But the banks are made of marble
With a guard at every door
And the vaults are stuffed with silver
That the seaman sweated for

I saw the weary miner
Scrubbing coal dust from his back
I heard his children cryin
Got no coal to heat the shack

But the banks are made of marble
With a guard at every door
And the vaults are stuffed with silver
That the miner sweated for

I've seen my brothers working
Throughout this mighty land
l prayed we'd get together
And together make a stand

Final Chorus
Then we'd own those banks of marble
With a guard at every door
And we'd share those vaults of silver
That we have sweated for


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-o3CJytIPE&feature=related

[Generic Other]

16. All You Fascists Bound To Lose -- Woody Guthrie

All you fascists are bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
You're bound to lose, you fascists
Are bound to lose




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwcKwGS7OSQ&feature=related

[Generic Other]

28. Solidarity for Wisconsin state workers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYiKdJoSsb8&feature=player_embedded#at=22

[Generic Other]

30. The Popular Wobbly -- Utah Phillips

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouf_Xco8dw8&feature=related

[Generic Other]

34. Great Railroad Strike of 1877

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ds4cHgzN-S8

[Generic Other]

92. IWW Women

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgYjVOFZZFc&feature=player_embedded

[Generic Other]

40. NJ union workers

[Generic Other]

42. stop union busting!

[Generic Other]

43. LA unions!

[Generic Other]

44. Art Directors Guild

[Generic Other]

45. Unionize minimum wage workers -- Pittsburgh

[Generic Other]

46. An injury to 0ne is an injury to all!

[Generic Other]

47. NYC 1909: Abolish child slavery!

[Generic Other]

93. Child Labor (Babies In the Mill / Dark as a Dungeon)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDN3X-WORI4&feature=related











http://popsuicide.blogspot.com/2010/11/child-labor.html

[Generic Other]

48. 60th Anniversary Oakland, CA Strike

[Generic Other]

49. 1934: 120 unions call for general strike

[Generic Other]

50. UAW

113 day strike, 1945

[Generic Other]

123. UAW Pride

[Generic Other]

52. 1936: GM sit-down strike

[Generic Other]

54. 1980 Chicago Firefighters Strike

[Generic Other]

55. 1931: West Virginia Mine Workers

[Generic Other]

57. Harlan County, Kentucky 1939

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QHH4jeoxHfA/SsNPuNkw4DI/AAAAAAAAAF0/pev2lV3TGr8/s320/miners7_harlan+Co_1939.jpg

[Generic Other]

103. Coal Black Miner Blues --- NIMROD WORKMAN

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnT4RaIJYUM&feature=related

[Generic Other]

104. Coorie Doon (miners lullaby) -- Matt McGinn

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WPI8CF04A0&feature=related

[Generic Other]

58. 1909: International Ladies Garment Workers Strike -- Philedelphia

[Generic Other]

160. ILGWU on picket line

NY

NY


Sears


Laredo (Alamo behind them)




Newark

[Generic Other]

162. Rockettes Strike

Rockettes and Corps de Ballet picket outside Radio City Music Hall, October 1, 1967.

[Generic Other]

59. Women Workers Strike 1912

[Generic Other]

60. 1912 Lawrence Massachusetts Textile Strike

[Generic Other]

91. The Lowell Factory Girl -- David Rovics

One of the first strikes of cotton-factory operatives that ever took place in this country was that in Lowell, in October, 1836. When it was announced that the wages were to be cut down, great indignation was felt, and it was decided to strike, en masse. This was done. The mills were shut down, and the girls went in procession from their several corporations to the “grove” on Chapel Hill, and listened to “incendiary” speeches from early labor reformers.

One of the girls stood on a pump, and gave vent to the feelings of her companions in a neat speech, declaring that it was their duty to resist all attempts at cutting down the wages. This was the first time a woman had spoken in public in Lowell, and the event caused surprise and consternation among her audience.

Cutting down the wages was not their only grievance, nor the only cause of this strike. Hitherto the corporations had paid twenty—five cents a week towards the board of each operative, and now it was their purpose to have the girls pay the sum; and this, in addition to the cut in the wages, would make a difference of at least one dollar a week. It was estimated that as many as twelve or fifteen hundred girls turned out, and walked in procession through the streets. They had neither flags nor music, but sang songs, a favorite (but rather inappropriate) one being a parody on “I won’t be a nun. ”

"Oh! isn’t it a pity, such a pretty girl as I-

Should be sent to the factory to pine away and die?

Oh ! I cannot be a slave,

I will not be a slave,

For I’m so fond of liberty

That I cannot be a slave."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OsxZLZLlRg&feature=related

http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5714/

[Generic Other]

61. 2008 Boeing Machinists Strike: Seattle, WA and Long Beach, CA

[Generic Other]

63. 1937: Woolworth Sitdown Strike -- NYC

[Generic Other]

124. 8 day Waitress strike

Waitresses at Woolworth's staged an eight-day sitdown strike in 1937, singing, dancing, exercising, doing each others hair and nails until finally management recognized their union and gave them a five-cent per hour pay hike.

http://apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=150

[Generic Other]

64. 1935: Bakery Worker's Local -- NYC

[Generic Other]

69. 1950: American Federation of Teachers picketing NYC Board of Ed

[Generic Other]

70. 1935: Bookeepers, Stenographers and Accountants Union organizing

[Generic Other]

71. 1959: Hospital Workers Local -- NYC

[Generic Other]

72. 1966: Transit Workers Union -- NYC

[Generic Other]

74. 1990: Daily News Strike Newspaper Guild -- NYC

[Generic Other]

76. 1910: Boston Police Strike

[Generic Other]

77. 1968: Sanitation Workers Strike -- Memphis, TN

[Generic Other]

89. 1933: Women of the Farm Labor Union -- Galena, Kansas

http://specialcollections.wichita.edu/exhibits/soulofapeople/images/recovery/access/28%20Rothstein.%20Farm%20labor%20union%20wives,%20Galena%20KS%201936.jpg

[Generic Other]

98. 1934 Seaman and Teamsters -- San Franciso

[Generic Other]

126. Teamsters on strike

[Generic Other]

99. 1926: Workers' Children with Milk Bottles Passaic, NJ

On January 25, 1926, six thousand workers struck the Botany Mill in Passaic. The strike soon spread to other mills in the neighboring towns of Garfield, Clifton, and Lodi. The strikers' demands included abolition of a wage cut and an increase in wages, overtime pay, a 44-hour work week, decent working conditions, and recognition of their union. By March, over 15,000 workers had joined the strike. All commentators agreed that women played a key role in the strike, whether as pickets or through relief and child-care efforts. In this photograph, strikers' children sit with milk bottles outside a strike kitchen set up by the United Council of Workingclass Housewives to aid strikers' families. In late 1926 and early 1927, most of the mills came to terms with the strikers, who had won the right to organize in Passaic.

http://www.scc.rutgers.edu/njwomenshistory/Period_5/workerschildren.htm

[Generic Other]

121. 1939: Fisher Body Strike -- Cleveland

[Generic Other]

127. 2010: Carpenter's Union Strike -- Chicago

[malaise]

168. Kick n/t

[Generic Other]

132. National Maritime Union on strike (1946?) Seattle

http://depts.washington.edu/labpics2/repository/d/3702-2/National+Maritime+Union+strike_+unclear+date+place_+by+Mel+K.jpg

[Generic Other]

133. Longshoremen march in 1940 Labor Day Parade Seattle

[Generic Other]

136. The Waterfront Workers History Project

http://depts.washington.edu/labpics2/repository/main.php

[Generic Other]

152. Maritime workers on strike

[Generic Other]

155. 2007: Writer's Guild of America strike

[Generic Other]

156. 2011: Ex-NFL players join American Airlines workers Dallas/Ft Worth

http://media.star-telegram.com/smedia/2011/02/07/21/0208_TWU_biz.ART_GCS17JSD7.1+TWU_Protest_4.standalone.prod_affiliate.58.jpg

[Generic Other]

66. "Bread and Roses" -- JOAN BAEZ & MIMI FARINA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYRcCa-ddOo&feature=player_embedded



Angel of the Working Class, Labor Day Parade NYC 1968

[Generic Other]

68. Unions Protest the Wagner Act

[Generic Other]

73. FDR with the ILGWU's cast Broadway Revue "Pins and Needles"

The last real labor president!

[Generic Other]

79. This Land Is Your Land -- Woody Guthrie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaI5IRuS2aE&feature=related

[Generic Other]

80. AFT History Video: Teachers Strike & Taft-Hartley Bill

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBu1nmaVUGg

[Generic Other]

90. St. Louis Industrial Union Council CIO

[Generic Other]

151. RFK shakes hands with AFL-CIO worker

http://farmworkermovement.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/UNION-PICKET-SIGN-+-HALF-PROFILE-US-SENATOR.jpg

[Generic Other]

96. Labor History Links

http://www.niu.edu/~rfeurer/labor/chronological.html#timelines

[Generic Other]

138. Strikers fight with a group of scabs 1935

[Generic Other]

158. definition of a scab by Jack London

[Generic Other]

163. Columbus Ohio: From My Cold Dead Hand

[Chimichurri]

6. kr

[BOG PERSON]

7. there's nothing like red nostalgia is there?

that's why i have a IWW poster, which i won on eBay, hanging on my wall.

[Generic Other]

9. They'll tell you it's a crime to have a union card.

They'll tell you it's a crime to have a union card.
They'll raid your meeting, hit you on the head.
Call every one of you a goddamn Red -

[Generic Other]

8. There's Power in a Union -- Len Wallace

Would you have freedom from wage slavery,
Then join in the grand Industrial band;
Would you from mis'ry and hunger be free,
Then come! Do your share, lend a hand.

CHORUS:
There is pow'r, there is pow'r
In a band of workingmen.
When they stand hand in hand,
That's a pow'r, that's a pow'r
That must rule in every land --
One Industrial Union Grand.

Would you have mansions of gold in the sky,
And live in a shack, way in the back?
Would you have wings up in heaven to fly,
And starve here with rags on your back?

If you've had "nuff" of "the blood of the lamb,"
Then join in the grand Industrial band;
If, for a change, you would have eggs and ham.
Then come! Do your share, lend a hand.

If you like sluggers to beat off your head,
Then don't organize, all unions despise,
If you want nothing before you are dead,
Shake hands with your boss and look wise.

Come, all ye workers, from every land,
Come join in the grand Industrial band.
Then we our share of this earth shall demand.
Come on! Do your share, lend a hand.

http://www.labornotes.org/2010/08/workers-world-awaken-theres-power-union

[Cleita]

10. That would be an easy song to sing on a march too. n/t

[Mr Generic Other]

11. these songs can make a tired worker's

blood begin to move again.
good music for hard times.

[Mojeoux]

13. I went to Samuel Gompers Public Elementary in Detroit!

People had bloody fights with the hired goons to get the rights we have.

[Generic Other]

14. Wow! I am impressed.

All I got was a Carnegie Library.

[Generic Other]

18. Dump The Bosses Off Your Back -- Utah Phillips

Are you poor forlorn and hungry

Are there lots of things you lack

Is your life made up of misery

Then dump the bosses off yr back

Are your clothes all torn and tattered

Are you living in a shack

Would you have your troubles scattered

Then dump the bosses off your back



Are you almost split asunder

Loaded like a long ear jack

Boob why don’t you buck like thunder

And dump the bosses off your back

All the agonies you suffer

You could end with one good whack

Stiffen up you ornery duffer

And dump the bosses off your back




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymY6y6o6PAo

[Mojeoux]

27. Mo-Town Was a Union Town.

America can look at the ruins in Michigan and see how crushing unions works out for the locals.

[Generic Other]

29. Henry Ford Was a Fascist -- Rovics

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykP7utXGiCk

[Generic Other]

51. striking Ford workers

http://www.onepennysheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/6a010536f96fe4970c01053716fe10970b-800wi

[Generic Other]

119. Union Way is the American Way!

[Generic Other]

122. Ford Co, thugs beat UAW official

[Generic Other]

117. 1936: GM Workers sitdown strike Flint, Michegan

[Generic Other]

118. Flint workers parade

[XemaSab]

17. Since I'm a 3rd generation Californian, may I present De Colores!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sLQbOOUY4g

[Generic Other]

19. Anthem of the United Farm Workers Union!

Welcome! And thanks for a beautiful song.

[Generic Other]

20. Pastures Of Plenty -- Odetta

It's a mighty hard row that my poor hands have hoed
My poor feet have traveled a hot dusty road
Out of your Dust Bowl and Westward we rolled
And your deserts were hot and your mountains were cold

I worked in your orchards of peaches and prunes
I slept on the ground in the light of the moon
On the edge of the city you'll see us and then
We come with the dust and we go with the wind

California, Arizona, I harvest your crops
Well its North up to Oregon to gather your hops
Dig the beets from your ground, cut the grapes from your vine
To set on your table your light sparkling wine

Green pastures of plenty from dry desert ground
From the Grand Coulee Dam where the waters run down
Every state in the Union us migrants have been
We'll work in this fight and we'll fight till we win

It's always we rambled, that river and I
All along your green valley, I will work till I die
My land I'll defend with my life if it be
Cause my pastures of plenty must always be free


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_v2hg_G-BRw

[XemaSab]

22. You're more than welcome!

I thought this thread needed more mentions of chickens. :D

[Generic Other]

75. 1973: Protesting non-union California Grapes

[Generic Other]

154. Boycott Safeway!

[dana_b]

102. muchas gracias!!

Recuerdo cantar esto en quinto grado.

[Skidmore]

21. I was over at that site yesterday.

It's an impressive collection.

[Generic Other]

23. this is our people's history

handed down to us so we can remember.

[Generic Other]

24. Today in Wisconsin: Union Songs with the Teachers Union

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=to6UKvSQKoQ

[Generic Other]

25. The Nightwatchman - union song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_CBbzA9eGM

[Generic Other]

26. Look for the Union Label

Look for the union label
when you are buying that coat, dress or blouse.

Remember somewhere our union's sewing,
our wages going to feed the kids, and run the house.

We work hard, but who's complaining?
Thanks to the I.L.G. we're paying our way!

So always look for the union label,
it says we're able to make it in the U.S.A.!


http://unionsong.com/u103.html

[phylny]

78. This song gives me chills still.

I remember the voices swelling from one or two to many. I remember the words and the tune, so I guess it was quite a successful song and commercial!

ETA: song begins @ 20 seconds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Lg4gGk53iY&feature=related

[Generic Other]

37. Standing with Wisconsin teachers

[Generic Other]

82. Go Wisconsin!

[Generic Other]

157. Wisconsin teachers walk picket line

[Generic Other]

130. Standing up for Education in Grand Rapids

[Generic Other]

153. I miss my teacher!

[Generic Other]

164. Standing with Wisconsin teachers

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V4qBzicntI8/TV3vc3t1GMI/AAAAAAAAd4U/_E0mGH1gFTc/s1600/struggle+continued+raised+fist.jpg

[Generic Other]

159. United Federation of Teachers NYC

[annabanana]

31. "That's Wgat I Want to Hear" - Phil Ochs!. . n/t

[Generic Other]

The Ringing of Revolution -- Phil Ochs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Rni9Cwoe6g&feature=related


In a building of gold, with riches untold,
lived the families on which the country was founded.
And the merchants of style, with their vain velvet smiles,
were there, for they also were hounded.
And the soft middle class crowded in to the last,
for the building was fully surrounded.
And the noise outside was the ringing of revolution.
Sadly they stared and sank in their chairs
and searched for a comforting notion.
And the rich silver walls looked ready to fall
As they shook in doubtful devotion.
The ice cubes would clink as they freshened their drinks,
wet their minds in bitter emotion.
And they talked about the ringing of revolution.
We were hardly aware of the hardships they beared,
for our time was taken with treasure.
Oh, life was a game, and work was a shame,
And pain was prevented by pleasure.
The world, cold and grey, was so far away
In the distance only money could measure.
But their thoughts were broken by the ringing of revolution.
And the clouds filled the room in darkening doom
as the crooked smoke rings were rising.
How long will it take, how can we escape
Someone asks, but no one's advising.
And the quivering floor responds to the roar,
In a shake no longer surprising.
As closer and closer comes the ringing of revolution.

So softly they moan, please leave us alone
As back and forth they are pacing.
And they cover their ears and try not to hear
With pillows of silk they're embracing.
Tthe crackling crowd is laughing out loud,
peeking in at the target they're chasing.
Now trembling inside the ringing of revolution.
With compromise sway we gave in half way
When we saw that rebellion was growing.
Now everything's lost as they kneel by the cross
Where the blood of christ is still flowing.
To late for their sorrow they've reached their tomorrow
and reaped the seed they were sowing.
Now harvested by the ringing of revolution.
In tattered tuxedos they faced the new heroes
and crawled about in confusion.
And they sheepishly grinned for their memories were dim
of the decades of dark execution.
Hollow hands raised; they stood there amazed
in the shattering of their illusions.
As the windows were smashed by the ringing of revolution.
Down on our knees we're begging you please,
We're sorry for the way you were driven.
There's no need to taunt just take what you want,
and we'll make amends, if we're living.
But away from the grounds the flames told the town
that only the dead are forgiven.
As they vanished inside the ringing of revolution.

[Generic Other]

33. Phil Ochs - Whats That I Hear?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXaMP9p_T9A&feature=related

[DU GrovelBot]

32. ## PLEASE DONATE TO DEMOCRATIC UNDERGROUND! ##

This week is our first quarter 2011 fund drive. Democratic Underground is
a completely independent website. We depend on donations from our members
to cover our costs. Please take a moment to donate! Thank you!

Click here to donate

[Generic Other]

35. Bruce Springsteen - Chimes Of Freedom [ Live! ]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2o9WUCqQzS0&feature=related

Far past sundown's finish and midnight's broken toll
We ducked inside the doorway, thunder flashing
As majestic bells of bolts struck shadows in the sounds
Seemin' to be the chimes of freedom flashing
Flashing for the warrior, whose strength is not too fight
Flashing for the refugee, on the unarmed route of flight
An' for each an' ev'ry underdog soldier in the night
An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing

In the city's melted furnace, unexpectedly we watched
With faces hidden, while the walls were tightening
As the echoes of the wedding bells before the blowin' rain
Dissolved into the bells of the lightning
Tolling for the rebel, tolling for the rake
Tolling for the luckless, the abandoned and forsaked
Tolling for the outcast, burning constantly at stake
An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing

Through the mad mystic hammering of the wild ripping hail
The sky hurled its poems in naked wonder
That the echoes of the church bells blew far into the breeze
Leavin' only bells of lightning and its thunder
Striking for the gentle, striking for the kind
Striking for the guardians and protectors of the minds
And the poet and the painter, far beyond his rightful time
An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing

Through the wild cathedral evening, the rain unravelled tales
For the disrobed faceless forms of no position
Tolling for the tongues with no place to bring their thoughts
All down in taken for granted situations
Tolling for the deaf and blind, tolling for the mute
For the mistreated mateless mother, the mis-titled prostitute
For the misdemeanour outlaw, chained and cheated by pursuit
An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing

Even though a cloud's white curtain in a far off corner flashed
And the hypnotic splattering mist was slowly lifting
Electric light still struck like arrows aimed but for the ones
Condemned to drift, or else be kept from drifting
Tolling for the searching ones on their speechless seeking trail
For the lonesome-hearted lovers with too personal a tale
And for each unharmful gentle soul misplaced inside a jail
An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing

Starry-eyed and laughing, as I recall when we were caught
Trapped by no track of hours for they hanged suspended
As we listened one last time, and we watched with one last look
Spellbound and swallowed 'till the tolling ended
Tolling for the aching ones whose wounds can not be nursed
For the countless, confused, accused, misused, strung-out ones and worse
An' for every hung-up person in the whole wide universe
An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing

[Generic Other]

36. Firefighters for Labor

[Generic Other]

39. danger!!!

[Generic Other]

108. Baltimore Firefighters and Police

[Generic Other]

109. 1978 Kansas

[Generic Other]

38. Kim Weston - Lift Every Voice & Sing (Black National Anthem)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGWsqR6UbGk

[malaise]

41. kick n/t

[Generic Other]

67. United Warehouse and Wholesalers Union 1948

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

53. Billy Bragg - There is Power in the Union

There is power in a factory, power in the land
Power in the hands of a worker
But it all amounts to nothing if together we don't stand
There is power in a Union

Now the lessons of the past were all learned with workers' blood
The mistakes of the bosses we must pay for
From the cities and the farmlands to trenches full of mud
War has always been the bosses' way, sir

The Union forever defending our rights
Down with the blackleg, all workers unite
With our brothers and our sisters from many far off lands
There is power in a Union

Now I long for the morning that they realise
Brutality and unjust laws can not defeat us
But who'll defend the workers who cannot organise
When the bosses send their lackies out to cheat us?

Money speaks for money, the Devil for his own
Who comes to speak for the skin and the bone
What a comfort to the widow, a light to the child
There is power in a Union

The Union forever defending our rights
Down with the blackleg, all workers unite
With our brothers and our sisters together we will stand
There is power in a Union.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CkFPyH8v1c

[Generic Other]

62. Joe Hill -- Pete Seeger

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_yC4ffyGiw

[malaise]

65. That's one of my favourites

Kick

[WillyT]

56. Way Cool !!! - K & R !!!

Bookmarked !!!

:yourock:

:hi:

:kick:

[Generic Other]

81. What Have The Unions Ever Done For Us?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=184NTV2CE_c&feature=related

[era veteran]

83. Too late to rec, my favorite post in a while,fantastic images,

great links. I am partial to Woody Guthrie. Thanks a lot.
And this

Which Side Are You On Florence Reece Original
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nzudto-FA5Y

Our father was a union man some day i'll be one too.
The bosses fired daddy what's our family gonna do?
Come all you good workers good news to you
I'll tell of how the good old union has come in here to dewll.

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

My daddy was miner and I'm a miner's son
and I'll stick with the union 'til every battles done.

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

They say in Marlan County there are no neutrals there
you'll either be a union man or a thug for J.H. Blair

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

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

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

Don't scab for the bosses don't listen to their lies
us poor folks haven't got a chance unless we organize

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

[Generic Other]

84. Mrs. Florence Reese -- link to her story here

One song, goes way back in Highlander's history -- and the woman who wrote it Florence Reece is still living, she's about 80 years old, lives in Knoxville -- is "Which Side are You On?" And she wrote that back in the 30s when the gun thugs tried to murder her husband for trying to organize a union up in Harlan County...."

Mrs. Reece wrote from personal experience. Her husband, Sam, was one of the union leaders, and Sheriff J. H. Blair and his men came to her house in search of him when she was alone with her seven children. They ransacked the whole house and then kept watch outside, ready to shoot Sam down if he returned.

One day during this tense period Mrs. Reece tore a sheet from a wall calendar and wrote the words to "Which Side Are You On?"

http://www.labornotes.org/node/1385

[catchnrelease]

165. Florence Reece

Florence Reece was my ex's grandmother! I don't think he ever met her, at least he never mentioned it, and to tell the truth I don't know if he knew her amazing history. I only found out a couple of years ago while doing genealogy research.

Since he was/is a die hard conservative, maybe he didn't want to admit there were (gasp)liberals in his background, lol. Needless to say, we learned to avoid political topics. He could never understand why I looked with disdain at his prized photograph--him shaking hands with St Ronnie. Florence would be rolling in her grave.

[Generic Other]

85. Thanks for your thumbs up! I felt like I learned a lot about unions today

All these voices, so many of them passed on. They left us this legacy of history. These words, pictures and songs. They showed us the way. And they showed us why we can't stop fighting.

[malaise]

86. This is a fabulous thread

I love it

[Generic Other]

87. I wanna help all the union folks review our history this weekend

and help those who don't know why we defend our unions with such passion why we do.

SOLIDARITY for all the working stiffs: grandfathers, grandmothers, fathers, mothers, uncles, aunts, sisters, brothers, sons, daughters...

UNION BUSTING is disgusting!

[malaise]

95. I'd love to see some of the youngsters do covers

for these great songs. We need some modern day videos as well.
Solidarity forever.

[Generic Other]

100. So many great songs and inspiring voices!

I agree about the need for new voices. New songs for a new day!

[opihimoimoi]

88. KICK

:kick:

[dana_b]

94. "Union Song" by Tom Morello (The Nightwatchman)

who will be in Madison on Monday afternoon for the rally:

COME MONDAY 2/21 NOON - CAPITOL SQUARE, MADISON, WI
.by Rise Against on Saturday, February 19, 2011 at 6:40pm.All eyes are on Madison, Wisconsin as thousands rally day after day against the radical policies Gov. Scott Walker is proposing against teachers, nurses, and all public service workers to silence the voice of workers and their unions. Come rock with students, teachers, community members, religious leaders, football players and many others for the middle class and leaders who will respect the freedom of working people to collectively call for a better life!

Here are the lyrics to Union Song:

For the fired auto workers
Who were twisted, tricked and robbed
To the peasant in Guatemala
In a sweatshop got your job
And she can't feed her family
On the pennies that she makes
Meanwhile the crime rate's rising
Up and down the Great Lake states

Like vegetables left in the field
The signatures smell rotten
On the contracts and the deeds
That push the race down to the bottom
As they load the rubber bullets
As they fire another round
I'm heading into the tear gas
Dig in man, hold your ground

For Joe Hill and Caesar Chavez
Who fought in their own time
For our brothers and our sisters
Up and down that picket line
For the unnamed and unnumbered
Who struggle brave and long
For the union men and women
Standing up and standing strong

Si nos quedemos
Juntos vamos a ganar? Si!
Hit em where it hurts
And bite the hand that feeds
You might get one to three
Or probation and a fine
But I know where I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be right on that front line

For Joe Hill and Caesar Chavez
Who fought in their own time
For our brothers and our sisters
Up and down that picket line
For the unnamed and unnumbered
Who struggle brave and long
For the union men and women
Standing up and standing strong

Now dirty scabs will cross the line
While others stand aside and look
But ain't nobody never got nothin'
That didn't raise their voice and push
Like the steel worker in Ohio
The miner in West Virginia
The teacher in Chicago
Janitor in Mississippi
From the sweatshops of L.A.
To the fields of Mission Flats
There's a thunder cloud exploding
And I'm free at last

Like Joe Hill and Caesar Chavez
Who fought in their own time
Like our brothers and our sisters
Up and down that picket line
Like the unnamed and unnumbered
Who struggle brave and long
Like the union men and women
Standing up and standing strong

[Generic Other]

97. Thank you!! LINK

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azc_1a68N6o

[dana_b]

101. you are welcome

he means what he says and puts his $$ where his mouth is.

[Generic Other]

105. Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger - The Treadmill Song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhZo5eNe4L0&feature=related

[Generic Other]

106. Richard Thompson - Pharaoh

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRtTkBdATS0&feature=related

[RandomThoughts]

107. Solidarity!!!!!!!!!!

Justice and compassion for all people in society, just wages for just work. Compassion for those in strife, and love to be shared!!!!!!!!!!!!




:loveya:

It works in literal and metaphor if you think about it.

[Generic Other]

110. Is that an anti-prohibition march? I have a song for it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fxoh0vaNeEs&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2RajDhx3PA

I am the man, the very fat man,
That waters the workers' beer
I am the man, the very fat man,
That waters the workers' beer
And what do I care if it makes them ill,
If it makes them terribly queer
I've a car, a yacht, and an aeroplane,
And I waters the workers' beer

Verses:

Now when I waters the workers' beer,
I puts in strychnine
Some methylated spirits,
And a can of kerosine
Ah, but such a brew so terribly strong,
It would make them terribly queer
So I reaches my hand for the watering-can
And I waters the workers' beer

Now a drop of good beer is good for a man
When he's tired, thirsty and 'ot
And I sometimes have a drop myself,
From a very special pot
For a strong and healthy working class
Is the thing that I most fear
So I reaches my hand for the watering-can
And I waters the workers' beer

Now ladies fair, beyond compare,
Be you maiden or wife
Spare a thought for such a man
Who leads such a lonely life
For the water rates are terribly high,
And the meths is terribly dear
And there isn't the profit there used to be
In watering the workers' beer

[RandomThoughts]

112. It is dishonest, and for the wrong reasons.

I understand what is written there. And no, you can't make someone some way they are not, but you should not hate people because they are not like someone else.

Back in the bars, at least the ones I went to, there were many races, straights and gays, fat and thin people. In the pool world there were lawyers, rich tycoons, drifters, grifters, and many workers from doctors to construction workers.

Most of us got along pretty well, we drank beer, told stories, and for the most part got along pretty good. Although you could tell those with attitude issues, mostly superiority issues. And those issues weren't in the workers, and most of the workers were nice even to those with superiority issues.

That song is not only about watering down the beer, they want to take all the beer. And why, fear mostly, a little loneliness, I understand much of what and why. If you have to lie or fake things to make it, then you are alone. You always hide behind a mask afraid people will notice you are no different then them.

:shrug:

I am due beer and travel money, and many experiences, what else do I need to know?

Imagine if the entire club looked at each other, and all said to each other, they are faking it.

[Generic Other]

114. I don't know if they did this in the old days, but it sounds likely, doesn't it?

1939, the first record by Paddy Ryan released by the Workers' Music Association. So who was watering the beer and why? I think you have answered the "why."

[Mr Generic Other]

125. will strike for beer.

i'm adopting that slogan for myself.
maybe i should have it printed on a shirt?

[Generic Other]

128. No. You have to work for beer.

[Mr Generic Other]

129. ok, i'll go for the free love

and work for the beer. as long as its less expensive.

[readmoreoften]

111. K&R for LaborNotes

[Generic Other]

113. LoborNotes is a fascinating read!!

Thanks for helping me credit the original site that made me post this thread. I have been chasing links ever since.

[Generic Other]

115. Pay me my money down -- Bruce Springsteen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTF2ZkqCa4M

[Generic Other]

116. Living Wages Now!

[malaise]

120. Kick

for the Sunday folks

[Generic Other]

131. I think I will make a documentary out of these pics

I wonder which song to use? I will have to get someone to sing the song.

[malaise]

135. That's a great idea

I'm sure we can find talented singers right here on DU

[Generic Other]

139. Looking for DU musician!!

:)

[Fire1]

134. I LOVE it!! Damned good and SO fuckin true!! n/t

[malaise]

137. Kick n/t

[Starry Messenger]

140. Wow! Tremendous work Generic Other.

Wonderful.

[malaise]

141. Just heard on M$NBComcast that the protesters are singing

this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yuc4BI5NWU&feature=related

[Generic Other]

142. Yay!!!

Sing it brothers and sisters!!!

[demmiblue]

143. Nice compilation!

:kick:

[suffragette]

144. "Fanning the Flames: Northwest Labor Song Traditions"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1723678#1724125


Wonderful thread, G.O.

[Generic Other]

145. The NW has a proud Labor history

Thanks so much for linking this!!!

[suffragette]

146. That we do

The Seattle Library has an interesting video on Earl Robinson. Watched it on my old vcr awhile back.

[Generic Other]

149. I was fortunate to meet him before he died

He sang all his songs that day to a small group of less than 20 people. It was a memorable day.

[suffragette]

150. That must have been wonderful

[suffragette]

147. From AFL-CIO blog,

http://blog.aflcio.org/2011/02/22/dropkick-murphys-new-song-backs-wisconsin-workers/
Dropkick Murphys’ New Song Backs Wisconsin Workers

by Mike Hall, Feb 22, 2011

Progressive, working class Irish rockers the Dropkick Murphys have joined the fight for middle class jobs and workers’ rights in Wisconsin with an early release of their song “Take ‘Em Down” from their upcoming release “Going Out in Style.” They have also have made the song available to be played at solidarity rallies across the country.

Click here to stream the song.

The band, which has a long history of supporting workers rights and union causes, released the following statement:

Dropkick Murphys would like to take a moment to acknowledge the struggles of the working people of Wisconsin and to pledge our support and solidarity by releasing the song ‘Take Em Down’ from our upcoming album. We think it’s appropriate at the moment and hope you like it…We’ll see you in Wisconsin in a few days! The Dropkick Murphys Stand With Wisconsin!!!!!”


First time I've heard of them. The song is pretty good.



This thread also made me think of Children of the Revolution in Seattle. They haven't made a union specific song that I know of, but Eleftheria is in the zone in it's sentiment: Never will I live in chains.
Video at the bottom of this page:
http://www.cotrmusic.com/views/news.aspx

[Generic Other]

148. Woot!! I'd march with these guys anyday!

[KurtNYC]

161. Kick

[Generic Other]

166. Homestead and Pullman Strikes by Diego Rivera

Diego Rivera's mural at Unity House, depicting class struggle and labor conflict in industry.

[Overseas]

167. K&R! //nt

[Generic Other]

169. 1957: Eleanor Roosevelt AFL-CIO

[Generic Other]

170. Union wives back JFK

[swilton]

171. K&R&Bookmarked

[swilton]

172. Music soothes the soul!

Thanks to everyone for all of the posts!:hi:

[Generic Other]

173. 'Union Thru and Thru' -- Eureka's-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P38VM7IwCI&NR=1

[Generic Other]

174. Friends with Low Wages

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bl1k5vLIApQ&NR=1

This is what you get when you work for Wal-Mart. No union. No benefits. No retirement.

[Generic Other]

175. Union Thug (Wisconsin)

[Generic Other]

176. Union Uprising in Wisconsin!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x557299