Socialist/union songs

[comrade_mufasa]

does anyone know any?

this is one i know:
The people's flag is deepest red,
It shrouded oft our martyred dead,
And ere their limbs grew stiff and cold,
Their hearts blood dyed its every fold.
Then raise the scarlet standard high. (chorus)
Within its shade we'll live and die,
Though cowards flinch and traitors sneer,
We'll keep the red flag flying here.

Look round, the Frenchman loves its blaze,
The sturdy German chants its praise,
In Moscow's vaults its hymns are sung
Chicago swells the surging throng.

It waved above our infant might,
When all ahead seemed dark as night;
It witnessed many a deed and vow,
We must not change its colour now.

It well recalls the triumphs past,
It gives the hope of peace at last;
The banner bright, the symbol plain,
Of human right and human gain.

It suits today the weak and base,
Whose minds are fixed on pelf and place
To cringe before the rich man's frown,
And haul the sacred emblem down.

With heads uncovered swear we all
To bear it onward till we fall;
Come dungeons dark or gallows grim,
This song shall be our parting hymn.

[celtopunk]

Damn near every song the Redskins ever did:
The Power is Yours, Go Get Organized, Keep on Keepin On, You want it, They got it, etc
"Which Side Are You On" - Billy Bragg
"There is Power in a Union" by Billy Bragg
"take Strike Action" Neurotics
"Gladiators" - Andy Irvine
"Strike Weapon" - Christy Moore
"Ordinary Man" - Christy Moore
"James LArkin" - Christy Moore (done by many people)
"James Connolly" - Christy Moore (done by many people)
"Pound a Week Rise" - Ed Pickford (done by many people)
"Casey Jones the Union Scab" - Utah Phillips
"Miners Lullabye" - Utah Phillips
"Hamlet Chicken Plant Disaster" - Jello Biafra & Mojo Nixon
"Boys on the Docks" Dropkick Murphys
"Which Side Are You On" - Dropkick Murphys (different from the Billy Bragg number)
"Down in Matewan" - Patrick Street
"16 Tons" - Done by many people
Ludlow Massacre - Woody Guthrie
Don't Mourn Organize is a collection of such songs put out by Smithsonian Folkways.

I'll post more perhaps later.

[The Garbage Disposal Unit]

If you're looking for classic folk songs, you should dig the Wobblies' Little Red Song Book - big chunks of it are on line.

You might also want to download Utah Phillips' performance of classic labour songs HERE (http://www.californiahistoricalsociety.org/exhibits/atwork/music_utah.html) (The link to download the whole thing in zip format is at the bottom o' the page).

[iwwobblie]

That Utah album is great.Also,check out these:

http://www.iww.org/store/various.shtml

[STI]

Check out the Almanac Singers (Pete Seeger's band).

[calmlikeabomb]

Tom Morello does some folk kind of stuff, as "The Nightwatchman", I heard one song called "Union Song" which was cool.

[Postteen]

Do you know the song Civil War(by guns and roses?).My mum recognised the melody and she told me that it's an old russian song (from the 40's)and she sung it to me in greek.It's about the fights of the working class etc.

[Scumcat Esq.]

Wow! :) GN'R is one of my top favourite bands and I never knew that Civil War's melody was taken from a Russian song... Didn't your mom mention its title? It'd be interesting to find the original...

[Bazza]

Here's some lyrics by the Redskins



IT CAN BE DONE!

Russia sparked the fires in 1917
First workers revolution
The first workers revolution in history
Working people forced the bosses' backs against the wall
First steps taken for a better life for all

It's a shame
It's a crying shame
When our past is buried
And our victories go un-named
It's a crying shame
When our history books
Talk of kings & men of fame

And in another country workers rose again
1919, 1919 in Berlin
But they didn't learn the lessons
From the Russians that they should
Revolution, revolution was drowned in blood

It's a crying shame
But the lessons plain
It's a crying shame
But the lessons plain

All things are possible

Hunger of the 30's
Hunger of the 30's back again
And the rich still rich
And the poor still the same as they ever were
And it seems to me
We're still not learning from our history

And it's a crying shame
Those who hold the future hold themselves in chains
It's a crying shame
Those who bear the pain hold themselves to blame
It's a crying, it's a crying shame
It's a crying shame

Look at Petrograd!
Look at Barcelona
Fight against the land
Fight against the land & the factory owners
Same fight today against another ruling class
Learn a lesson from your past

It's a crying shame
But the lessons plain
It's a crying shame
But the lessons plain
It can happen again
It's a crying, crying, crying shame
But the lessons plain
It can be done again!



UNIONISE

The first thing that needs to be said
Is hatred's all very well
But hatred must be organised
If dreams are to be realised
And anger is no substitute
For diciplined rebellion
To unionise is to organise

Unionise!
Fight back!
Unionise!
Stop! Strike!
Unionise!

Well all this talk of fighting back
Is talk to be ignored
If we don't know where our power lies
And utilize the tools we've got
The bosses have the money
And the workers have no rights
But our muscle is our labour
And we flex it when we go on strike

Unionise!
Fight back!
Unionise!
Stop! Strike!
Unionise!

We can talk of riots and petrol bombs
And revolutions all day long
But if we fail to organise
We'll waste our lives on protest songs
A life worth living is waiting to be won, sure
The day the bosses fall
The day the dream has come
But stop romanticising
Hollow talk is just a curse
The revolution won't appear
We all have to build for it first

Unionise!
Fight back!
Unionise!
Stop! Strike!
Unionise!