Union Medley

In These Times 2004	UNION MEDLEY: YOU GOTTA GO DOWN AND JOIN THE UNION PUT IT ON THE GROUND UNION MAID WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON? (Words and Music by Woody Guthrie)(Ray Glaser / Bill Wolff) (Words and New Music Adapt. by Woody Guthrie)(Adapt./Arr. - Robert DeCormier / Peter Yarrow / Noel Paul Stookey / Mary Travers) (Florence Reece) You gotta go down and join the union You got to join it by yourself Ain’t nobody here can join it for you You gotta go down and join the union by yourself spoken: Working in the factories would kill a dog Working on the belt line killed your soul Working in the limestone and cement quarries withered your lungs Working in the cotton mills shot your legs and feet all to hell And working in the steel mills burned up your spirit like a gnat that lit in the melting pot But out of this whole mixing bowl of hell and high water The working folk have marched against Billy clubs, against machine guns And they sang their way through the whole dirty mess Now, the bank men have got their union, and the landlords got their union And the finance men got their union But down south and out west On the cotton farms and working in the orchards and fruit crops It’s a jail house offense for a few, common everyday workers To form them a union and get together for higher wages Honest pay and fair treatment. -Woody Guthrie, 1941 You gotta go down and join the union You got to join it by yourself Ain’t nobody here can join it for you You gotta go down and join the union by yourself If you want a raise in pay all you have to do Is go and ask the boss for it and he will give it to you He will give it to you, my boys, he will give it to you A raise in pay without delay; He will give it to you Oh, put it on the ground, spread it all around Dig it with a hoe and it will make your flowers grow Oh, the men who own the industries they own no bonds or stocks They own no yachts and limousines or gems the size of rocks They own no big estates with pools or silken BVD’s Because they pay the working man such fancy salaries Oh, put it on the ground, spread it all around Dig it with a hoe and it will make your flowers grow There once was a union maid who never was afraid Of the goons and ginks and the company finks And the deputy sheriff who made the raid She went to the union hall where a meeting it was called And when the company boys came around She always stood her ground 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 the company spies She couldn’t be fooled by the company’s stool She’d always organize the guys She’d always get her way when she struck for better pay She’d show her card to the company guard And this is what she’d say: 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 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 water We shall not be moved Black and white together We shall not be moved Our union is forever We shall not be moved Just like a tree that’s standing by the water 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 water We shall not be moved 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 you 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? TRO -© Copyright 1963 (renewed) Ludlow Music Inc., New York, NY /© 1947 Stormking Music, Inc. / TRO -© Copyright 1963 (renewed) Ludlow Music Inc., New York, NY / ©2003 Mapape Lake (ASCAP)/©11947, 1966 Stormking Music, Inc. (BMI)