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The Thunder Bay City Workers Strike began April 28, 1998.
This certifies that seven hundred sisters and brothers of CUPE 87 are fighting the good fight for the hearts, minds and values of the community of Thunder Bay, and they are winning.
This songbook prepared
with Support and Permission of the Strike Committee
Judith Mongrain, President, CUPE 87
May 19, 1998
INDEX
Preface
Solidarity Forever
Union Maid
Which Side Are You On?
Joe Hill
Roll the Union On
The Economic Rationalist
Justice Delayed
We Shall Not Be Moved
Pastures of Plenty
This Land Is Your Land
This Train Is Bound For Glory
Sixteen Tons
We Shall Overcome
I hate a song that makes you think that you are not any good.
I hate a song that makes you think that you are just born to lose.
Bound to lose.
No good to nobody.
No good for nothing.
Because you are too old or too young or too fat or too slim or too ugly or too this or too that.
Songs that run you down or poke fun at you on account of your bad luck or hard travelling.
I am out to fight those songs to my very last breath of air and my last drop of blood.
I am out to sing songs that will prove to you that this is your world and that if it has hit you pretty hard and knocked you for a dozen loops, no matter what color, what size you are, how you are built,
I am out to sing the songs that make you take pride in yourself and in your work.
And the songs that I sing are made up for the most part by all sorts of folks just about like you.
I could hire out to the other side, the big money side, and get several thousand dollars every week just to quit singing my own kind of songs and to sing the kind that knock you down still farther and the ones that poke fun at you even more and the ones that make you think that you’ve not got any sense at all.
But I decided a long time ago that I’d starve to death before I’d sing any such songs as that.
The radio waves and your movies and your jukeboxes and your songbooks are already loaded down and running over with such no good songs as that anyhow.
Woody Guthrie
by Ralph Chaplin
When the union’s inspiration
Through the workers’ blood shall run
There can be no power greater
Anywhere beneath the sun
Yet what force on earth is weaker
Than the feeble strength of one
For the Union makes us strong
Chorus:
Solidarity forever, solidarity forever
Solidarity forever
For the Union makes us strong
They have taken untold millions
That they never toiled to earn
But without our brain and muscle
Not a single wheel can turn
We can break their haughty power
Gain our freedom when we learn
That the Union makes us strong
Chorus
In our hands is placed a power
Greater than their hoarded gold
Greater than the might of armies
Magnified a thousandfold
We can bring to birth a new world
From the ashes of the old
For the Union makes us strong
Chorus
Note:
Ralph Chaplin was a poet , artist, writer and organiser for the Industrial Workers of the World. He wrote this song in 1915 just six months before his fellow IWW songwriter Joe Hill was executed. It was to become the anthem of the labour movement. It goes to the tune of the American Civil War song John Brown’s Body. Ralph Chaplin said “I wanted a song to be full of revolutionary fervour and to have a chorus that was singing and defiant”
UNION MAID
by Woody Guthrie
There once was a union maid
She never was afraid
Of goons and ginks and company finks
And the deputy sheriffs who made the raid
She went to the union hall
When a meeting it was called
And when the company boys came round
She always stood her ground
Chorus
Oh, you can’t scare me, I’m sticking to the union
I’m sticking to the union, I’m sticking to the union
Oh, you can’t scare me, I’m sticking to the union
I’m sticking to the union till the day I die
This union maid was wise
To the tricks of company spies
She couldn’t be fooled by the company stools
She’d always organize the guys
She’d always get her way
When she struck for higher pay
She’d show her card to the National Guard
And this is what she’d say
Chorus
You women who want to be free
Just take a little tip from me
Break out of that mold we’ve all been sold
You got a fighting history
The fight for women’s rights
With workers must unite
Like Mother Jones, bestir them bones
To the front of every fight
Chorus
WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON?
by Florence Reese
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
Chorus
They say in Harlan County
There are no neutrals there
You’ll either be a union man
Or a thug for J.H. Blair
Chorus
Oh, workers can you stand it?
Oh, tell me how you can
Will you be a lousy scab
Or will you be a man?
Chorus
Don’t scab for the bosses
Don’t listen to their lies
Us poor folks haven’t got a chance
Unless we organize
Chorus
Notes for Which Side are You On?
Pete Seeger, in an introduction to “Which Side Are You On?” on his record “Cant You See This System’s Rotten Through And Through” says:
“Maybe the most famous song it was ever my privilege to know was the one written by Mrs Florence Reece. Her husband Sam was an organiser in that “bloody” strike in Harlan County, Kentucky in 1932.
“They got word that the company gun - thugs were out to kill him, and he got out of his house, I think out the back door, just before they arrived. And Mrs Reece said they stuck their guns into the closets, into the beds, even into the piles of dirty linen. One of her two little girls started crying and one of the men said “What are you crying for? We’re not after you, we’re after your old man”.
“After they had gone, she felt so outraged she tore a calendar off the wall and on the back of it wrote the words and put them to the tune of an old hard-shelled Baptist hymn tune, although come to think of it, the hymn tune used an old English ballad melody.
“And her two little girls used to go singing it in the union halls.”
JOE HILL
A song by Alfred Hayes (With apologies for the one small change.)
I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night
Alive as you or me
Says I, But Joe, you’re ten years dead
I never died, says he
I never died, says he
In Salt Lake, Joe, says I to him
Him standing by my bed
They framed you on a murder charge
Says Joe, But I ain’t dead
Says Joe, But I ain’t dead
The copper bosses killed you, Joe
They shot you, Joe, says I
Takes more than guns to kill a man
Says Joe, I didn’t die
Says Joe, I didn’t die
And standing there as big as life
And smiling with his eyes
Joe says, What they forgot to kill
Went on to organize
Went on to organize
Joe Hill ain’t dead, he says to me
Joe Hill ain’t never died
Where working men are out on strike
Joe Hill is at their side
Joe Hill is at their side
From Thunder Bay* up to Maine
In every mine and mill
Where workers strike and organize
Says he, You’ll find Joe Hill
Says he, You’ll find Joe Hill
I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night
Alive as you or me
Says I, But Joe, you’re ten years dead
I never died, says he
I never died, says he
Notes for “Joe Hill”:
Joe Hill, a great organizer and poet, was executed in 1915 on a murder charge universally considered to be a frame-up.
Joe Hill’s Will
Written just before he was executed on trumped up charges by the state of Utah.
My will is easy to decide
For there is nothing to divide
My kin don’t need to fuss and moan
“Moss does not cling to a rolling stone”
My body? Ah, If I could choose
I would to ashes it reduce
And let the merry breezes blow
My dust to where some flowers grow
Perhaps some fading flower then
Would come to life and bloom again
This is my last and final will
Good luck to all of you, Joe Hill
ROLL THE UNION ON
by John Handcox
Chorus
We’re gonna roll, we’re gonna roll, we’re gonna roll the union on
We’re gonna roll, we’re gonna roll, we’re gonna roll the union on
If the boss gets in the way, we’re gonna roll it over him
Gonna roll it over him, gonna roll it over him
If the boss gets in the way, we’re gonna roll it over him
We’re gonna roll the union on
Chorus
If the scabs gets in the way, we’re gonna roll it over them
Gonna roll it over them, gonna roll it over them
If the scabs gets in the way, we’re gonna roll it over them
We’re gonna roll the union on
Chorus
If MacRae gets in the way, we’re gonna roll it over him
Gonna roll it over him, gonna roll it over him
If MacRae gets in the way, we’re gonna roll it over him
We’re gonna roll the union on
Chorus
THE ECONOMIC RATIONALIST
by Dermot Dargon
I went to see a movie it was called “Jurassic Park”
A lot of folk were frightened as we sat there in the dark
“Well, did the movie scare you” they asked when I came out”
“Hell no!” I said. “there’s much worse things than dinosaurs about”
I’ve seen a real live monster he’s everywhere these days.
He’s ripping up society in a thousand subtle ways
Don’t be fooled if he seems friendly full of reason and goodwill
’Cause he makes Tyrannosaurus Rex look like Blinky Bill”
Refrain
He wears fine suits and his shoes are shiny
His ego’s large but his brain is tiny
He goes to bed early and he never gets pissed
He’s an Economic Rationalist!
He’s not the same as you or me
He believes in a God called GDP
He’s got a Porsche and a place to park it
And he places all his faith in the market
He takes unsuspecting people. this deadly monster does.
He turns them into numbers and it gives him quite a buzz
He’s got economic models and he feeds the numbers through.
And forgets that what he’s dealing with is really me and you
He’s not the sort of monster who has mighty teeth and claws.
But he’s good at crunching numbers in his electronic jaws
His weapon’s the computer and the calculator too.
And if you don’t look out. he’ll make a number out of you!
Refrain:
He wears fine suits
He talks incomprehensible jargon
He’s swapped his award for an enterprise bargain
He’s got the key to the world’s salvation
And the name of the key is privatization.
This monster acts in ways that are both dangerous and unhealthy
He believes in cutting taxes to “incentivate” the wealthy
But then he says “Equality’s a thing we can’t ignore”.
So he slashes welfare payments to “incentivate” the poor
He thinks welfare should be privatized and governments made small
Community development he can’t understand at all
He’s into blaming victims, he’s info “laissez faire”.
Like a predatory destructive 1990s millionaire
Refrain:
He wears fine suits
He smiles at us all but he doesn’t trust us
He don’t know the meaning of social justice
He believes in a thing called “trickle down” theory -
It’s collective economic hara-kiri!
You’re bound to meet this monster - cause he isn’t in the zoo
He’s coming very shortly to a workplace close to you
Please don’t attempt to fight him or you’ll end up very dead
The only way to beat him is to laugh at him instead
I’ve seen a real live monster, he’s everywhere these days.
He’s ripping up society in a thousand subtle ways
Don’t be fooled if he seems friendly full of reason and goodwill.
’Cause he makes Tyrannosaurus Rex look like Blinky Bill’
Refrain:
He wears fine suits
He’s a dangerous prehistoric shark
He’s a monster out of Jurassic Park
With just one very important distinction -
I’m afraid he’s still got to join them in extinction.
| JUSTICE DELAYED |
by John Warner 25/4/98 (Apologies for the slight changes.)
Tune: Mixture of Muckin’ o’ Geordie’s Byre and Bonnie Dundee/Billy of Tea
Justice delayed is justice denied,
Four judges have ruled that the right’s on our side,
Now give us our jobs back and fling the gates wide,
For justice delayed is justice denied.
We’ve maintained the peace as we stood for our right,
They brought in the scabs and armed thugs for the fight.
They went to the courts and the courts ruled our way,
Why are we still standing outside today?
It’s comic to hear City Hall crying poor,
They can’t pay fair wages yet they pay for the law,
The law goes against them, as rightly it ought,
And still they have money to try the next court.
They say they can’t pay us, that the City is broke,
And we’d all be laughing except it’s no joke.
They’re still paying scabs on the big hired bus,
But they’ve stripped all the assets, there’s no cash for us.
We’re sick of injunctions, we’re sick of the wait,
While scabs wreck equipment we see through the gate.
Our trust in the law’s wearing weary and thin,
It’s time to do justice and let us back in.
WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED
Chorus:
We shall, we shall, we shall not be moved.
We shall, we shall, we shall not be moved.
Just like the tree that’s standing by the water,
We shall not be moved.
They cannot privatize us,
We shall not be moved.
They cannot privatize us,
We shall not be moved.
Just like a tree that’s standing by the water,
We shall not be moved.
Chorus
Our union is behind us,
We shall not be moved.
Our union is behind us,
We shall not be moved.
Just like the tree that’s standing by the water,
We shall not be moved.
Chorus
We’re fighting for our families;
We shall not be moved.
We’re fighting for our families;
We shall not be moved.
Just like the tree that’s standing by the water,
We shall not be moved.
Chorus
PASTURES OF PLENTY
by Woody Guthrie
It’s a mighty hard row that my poor hands have hoed
My poor feet have travelled 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 need be
Cause my pastures of plenty must always be free
by Woodie Guthrie
This land is your land, this land is my land
From snow capped mountains to Prince Edward Island
From the BC forests to the seaway waters
This land was made for you and me
As I went walking that ribbon of highway
And saw above me that endless skyway
And saw below me the golden valley, I said:
This land was made for you and me
When the sun came shining, then I was strolling
In wheat fields waving, and dust clouds rolling
The voice was chanting as the fog was lifting
This land was made for you and me
In the squares of the city by the shadow of the steeple
Near the relief office I saw my people
And some were stumbling and some were wondering if
This land was made for you and me.
I can see your mailbox, I can see your doorstep
I can feel my wind rock your tip-top treetop
All around your house there my sunbeam whispers
This land is made for you and me.
Was a big high wall there that tried to stop me
A sign was painted said: Private Property
But on the back side it didn’t say nothing
This land was made for you and me
Nobody living can ever stop me
As I go walking my freedom highway
Nobody living can make me turn back
This land was made for you and me.
THIS TRAIN IS BOUND FOR GLORY
by Woddie Guthrie (Apologies for the slight amendments.)
This train is bound for glory, this train,
This train is bound for glory, this train,
This train is bound for glory,
Don’t ride nothin’ but the righteous an’ the holy
This train is bound for glory, this train,
This train don’t carry no privatizers, this train,
This train don’t carry no privatizers, this train,
This train don’t carry no privatizers
No hypocrites, no Council misers,
This train is bound for glory, this train.
This train is built for speed now, this train,
This train is built for speed now, this train,
This train is built for speed
Fastest train you ever did see,
This train is bound for glory, this train.
This train don’t carry no liars, this train,
This train don’t carry no liars, this train,
This train don’t carry no liars,
No hypocrites or Aldercriers„
This train is bound for glory, this train.
This train don’t carry no Strike Breakers, this train,
This train don’t carry no Strike Breakers, this train,
This train don’t carry no Strike Breakers,
Brian MacRae or labour fakers,
This train is bound for glory, this train.
SIXTEEN TONS
by Merle Travis
Some people say a man is made outta mud
A poor man’s made outta muscle and blood
Muscle and blood and skin and bones
A mind that’s a-weak and a back that’s strong
Chorus:
You load sixteen tons and what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don’t you call me ’cause I can’t go
I owe my soul to the company store
I was born one mornin’ when the sun didn’t shine
I picked up my shovel and I walked to the mine
I loaded sixteen tons of number nine coal
And the straw boss said “Well, a-bless my soul”
Chorus
I was born one mornin’, it was drizzlin’ rain
Fightin’ and trouble are my middle name
I was raised in the canebrake* by an ol’ mama lion
Cain’t no-a high-toned woman make me walk the line
Chorus
If you see me comin’, better step aside
A lotta men didn’t, a lotta men died
One fist of iron, the other of steel
If the right one don’t a-get you, then the left one will
Chorus
WE SHALL OVERCOME
We shall overcome
We shall overcome
We shall overcome some day
Chorus:
Oh deep in my heart
I do believe
We shall overcome some day
We’ll walk hand in hand
We’ll walk hand in hand
We’ll walk hand in hand some day
Chorus:
We shall all be free
We shall all be free
We shall all be free some day
Chorus:
We are not afraid
We are not afraid
We are not afraid some day
Chorus:
We are not alone
We are not alone
We are not alone some day
Chorus:
The whole wide world around
The whole wide world around
The whole wide world around some day
Chorus:
We shall overcome
We shall overcome
We shall overcome some day
Chorus:
Notes for “We Shall Overcome”:
In 1901, Charles Albert Tindley, a Philadelphia Methodist minister, wrote a song entitled, I’ll Over Come Someday. In spirit, more than in words or music, the song provided the inspiration for We Shall Overcome, the song that emerged in the civil rights movement of the early 1960s. Passed along in the oral tradition, Tindley’s song underwent many alterations so that the song in the early 1960s had become quite different from the 1901 version.
Along the picket lines in Charleston, S.C., in 1946, a variant of the song was sung by the members of Local 15 of the Food and Tobacco Workers Association. They were striking to increase their wages of forty-five cents an hour. Two members of the union came to the Highlander Folk School, then operating at Monteagle, Tenn., and shared this song. From Tennessee the song spread quickly, with many people altering the tune and words.
Folk singers, including Zilphia Horton, Frank Hamilton, Guy Carawan and Pete Seeger, added stanzas and shaped the melody.
In the summer of 1963, The New York Times reported that the Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker, an associate of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said, “One cannot describe the vitality and emotion this hymn evokes across the Southland. I have heard it sung in great mass meetings with a thousand voices singing as one. I’ve heard a half dozen sing it softly behind the bars of the Hinds County Prison in Mississippi.
“I have heard old women singing it on the way to work in Albany, Ga. I’ve heard the students singing it as they were being dragged away to jail.
“It generates power that is indescribable. It manifests a rich legacy of musical literature that serves to keep body and soul together for that better day which is not far off.”
One of the leaders of the southern Christian Leadership Conference commented, “You really have to experience it to understand the kind of power it has for us. When you get through singing it, you could walk over a bed of hot coals, and you wouldn’t even feel it!”
Perhaps this explains why we heard it in the summer of 1989 on the newscasts from China as the throngs of students sang it in Tiananmen Square in Beijing.
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