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Union Medley
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? |
Have You Been To Jail For Justice?
Was it Cesar Chavez or Rosa Parks that day?
Some say Dr. King or Ghandi
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 laying 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 are made by people
And people can be wrong
Once unions were against the law
But slavery was fine
Women were denied the vote
While children worked the mine
The more you study history
The less you can deny it
A rotten law stays on the books
'til folks with guts defy it!
Have you been to jail for justice?
I want to shake your hand
'Cause sitting in and laying 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
Well the law is supposed to serve us
And so are the police
When the system fails
It's up to us to speak our piece
We must be ever vigilant
For justice to prevail
So get courage from your convictions
Let 'em haul you off to jail!
Have you been to jail for justice?
I want to shake your hand
'Cause sitting in and laying 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
Have you been to jail for justice
Have you been to jail for justice
Have you been to jail for justice
Then you're a friend of mine
Jesus Is On The Wire
Run down church
Red clay
River covered
In a smoky haze
Sunday morning
The fire is out
Sunday morning
No one about
The earth is soft
This time of year
Boots get caked
From there to here
Down the road
Route 25
They found this boy
He was barely alive
Jesus is on the wire
So far away, higher and higher
Jesus is on the wire
They took him down
Off the fence
Cold as ice
Almost dead
They said that he
That he slept with guys
They said that he
Deserved to die
Jesus is on the wire
So far away, higher and higher
Jesus is on the wire
Wayfaring Stranger
I am a poor wayfaring stranger
I'm traveling through
This world of woe
And there's no sickness, no toil or danger
In that bright land
To which I go
I'm going there to see my mother
I'm going there no more to roam
I'm just a'going over Jordan
I'm just a'going over home
Now one of these mornings
And it won't be long
We all shall rise
And stand side by side
And hand in hand
We're bound for glory
And death shall fall before freedom's tide
I'm going there to see my mother
I'm going there no more to roam
I'm just a'going over Jordan
I'm just a'going over home
I'm going there to see my mother
I'm going there no more to roam
I'm just a'going over Jordan
I'm just a'going over home |
Don't Laugh At Me
I'm a little boy with glasses
The one they call a geek
A little girl who never smiles
'Cause I have braces on my teeth
And I know how it feels to cry myself to sleep
I'm that kid on every playground
Who's always chosen last
A single teenage mother
Tryin' to overcome my past
You don't have to be my friend
But is it too much to ask
Don't laugh at me
Don't call me names
Don't get your pleasure from my pain
In God's eyes we're all the same
Someday we'll all have perfect wings
Don't laugh at me
I'm the beggar on the corner
You've passed me on the street
And I wouldn't be out here beggin'
If I had enough to eat
And don't think I don't notice
That our eyes never meet
Don't laugh at me
Don't call me names
Don't get your pleasure from my pain
In God's eyes we're all the same
Someday we'll all have perfect wings
Don't laugh at me
I'm fat, I'm thin, I'm short, I'm tall
I'm deaf, I'm blind, hey, aren't we all
Don't laugh at me
Don't call me names
Don't get your pleasure from my pain
In God's eyes we're all the same
Someday we'll all have perfect wings
Don't laugh at me
Of This World
I can ease the suffering of this world
I can ease the suffering of this world
I can ease the suffering of this world
With my head, my heart and my hand
With my eyes I can see
The way things are and they way they could be
Hope and vision call to me
Bringing life new meaning
I can ease the suffering of this world
I can ease the suffering of this world
I can ease the suffering of this world
With my head, my heart and my hand
With my heart I can feel
The ebb and flow of life revealed
Pain and sorrow all will heal
With love and true compassion
I can ease the suffering of this world
I can ease the suffering of this world
I can ease the suffering of this world
With my head, my heart and my hand
With my hands and with my sweat
I will do what's not done yet
With tenderness and no regret
Embrace the work before me
I can ease the suffering of this world
I can ease the suffering of this world
I can ease the suffering of this world
With my head, my heart and my hand
I will not turn my head
I will not close my heart
I will not still my hands
Until my work is done
I can ease the suffering of this world
I can ease the suffering of this world
I can ease the suffering of this world
With my head, my heart and my hand
Some Walls
Some walls are made of stone
Sometimes we build our own
Some walls stand for years
And some wash away with tears
Some walls
Some walls
Some walls are lined with gold
Where some hearts stay safe and cold
Some walls are made of doubt
Holding in and keeping out
If there's any hope for love at all
Some walls must fall
Some walls
Some walls
Some walls are built on pride
Some keep the child inside
Some walls are made in fear
That love let go will disappear
If there's any hope for love at all
Some walls must fall
How will you ever know what might be found
Until you let the walls come tumbling down
If there's any hope for love at all
Some walls, some walls must fall
If there's any hope for love at all
Some wall, some walls, some walls
Must fall |
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How Can I Keep From Singing / The Great Storm Is Over
My life rolls on in endless song
Above earth's lamentations
I hear the real though far-off hymn
That hails the new creation
Above the tumult and the strife
I hear it's music ringin'
It sounds an echo in my soul
How can I keep from singin'?
Alleliuah the great storm is over
Lift up your wings and fly
Alleliuah the great storm is over
Lift up your wings and fly
Thunder and lightning gave voice to the night
The little lame child cried out in her fright
Hush little baby, a story I'll tell
Of a love that has vanquished
The powers of hell
Alleliuah the great storm is over
Lift up your wings and fly
Alleliuah the great storm is over
Lift up your wings and fly
Sweetness in the air and justice on the wind
Laughter in the house where the mourners have been
The dead shall have music and the blind have new eyes
The standards of death taken down by surprise
Alleliuah the great storm is over
Lift up your wings and fly
Alleliuah the great storm is over
Lift up your wings and fly
Release for the captives, an end to the wars
New springs in the desert, new hope for the poor
The little lame children will dance as they sing
And play with the bears and lions in spring
Alleliuah the great storm is over
Lift up your wings and fly
Alleliuah the great storm is over
Lift up your wings and fly
Hush little baby, let go of your fear
The Lord loves his own and your mother is here
The child fell asleep as the lantern did burn
The mother sang on 'till her bridegroom's return
Alleliuah the great storm is over
Lift up your wings and fly
Alleliuah the great storm is over
Lift up your wings and fly |
Invisible People
We came to a new world
Tired of the old one
Hungry for freedom
And heavy with prayer
It was a beautiful treasure
Ours for the taking
Never mind that someone
Was already there
Invisible people
We were climbing in numbers
In just a few generations
Frontiers to conquer
And fortunes to make
So we hitched up our wagons
And pushed ever onward
Never a thought for
What lay in our wake
Invisible people
We can't see their tears
They still cry out
But no one can hear
Invisible people
Hey, yay,yay, yay, yay, yay, yay
Hey, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay
Shattered in spirit
Promises broken
Hunters and healers
Now refugees
Tell me who is the savage
Who is the savior
When a people are ravaged
By hatred and greed
Invisible people
We come for the bargains
With flags for the children
Acres of parking
Opening day
But under the asphalt
The pride of a nation
Is buried forever
In the home of the brave
Invisible people
We can't see their tears
They still cry out
But no one can hear
Invisible people
Hey, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay
Hey, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay
Hey, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay |
All God's Critters
All God's critters got a place in the choir
Some sing low, some sing higher
Some sing out loud on the telephone wire
And some just clap their hands, or paws or anything they got now
Listen to the bass, it's the one on the bottom
Where the bullfrog croaks and the hippopotamus
Moans and groans with a big to do
And old cow just goes 'moo'
Well the dogs and the cats they take up the middle
The honeybee hums and the crickets fiddle
The donkey brays and the pony neighs
The old coyote howls
All God's critters got a place in the choir
Some sing low, some sing higher
Some sing out loud on the telephone wire
And some just clap their hands, or paws or anything they got now
Listen to the top where the little bird sings
The melody with the high voice ringing
The hoot owl hollers over everything
And the jaybird disagrees
Singing in the nighttime, singing in the day
The little duck quacks and he's on his way
The 'possum don't have much to say
And the porcupine talks to herself
All God's critters got a place in the choir
Some sing low, some sing higher
Some sing out loud on the telephone wire
And some just clap their hands, or paws or anything they got now
Everybody here is a part of the plan
We all get to play in the great critter band
From the eagle in the sky to the whale in the sea
It's one great symphony
All God's critters got a place in the choir
Some sing low, some sing higher
Some sing out loud on the telephone wire
And some just clap their hands, or paws or anything they got now |
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It's Magic
He cut her in half
With a shiny steel saw
He put her all back together
And I was in awe
As rabbits and doves and bandanas appeared
And he pulled a quarter right out of my ear
I turned to my dad, I said, 'How'd he do it?'
And dad, he just smiled, he said, 'There's nothing to it."
It's magic and you don't want to know
Just how it's done, it would ruin the show
You've just got to believe
'Cause believing is what makes it happen
Oh it's nothing but magic
Now I fell in love the first time in 8th grade
And I started shaving the very next day
Just walking her home made me light on my feet
And I promised her things you just wouldn't believe
And when I asked my dad why girls had that effect
He said, 'Go ask your mom, I ain't figured it yet'
It's magic and you don't want to know
Just how it's done, it would ruin the show
You've just got to believe
'Cause believing is what makes it happen
Oh it's nothing but magic
Well the years have been hard, the years have been kind
These last years have taken both parents of mine
Some things you can't change with a wave of your hand
So many things I still don't understand
But, in a hospital gown, standing next to my wife
I'm watching this miracle come into life
It's magic and you don't want to know
Just how it's done, it would ruin the show
You've just got to believe
'Cause believing is what makes it happen
Oh it's nothing but magic and you don't want to know
Just how it's done, it would ruin the show
You've just got to believe
'Cause believing is what makes it happen
Oh it's nothing but magic
Yes, it's magic |
Oh, Had I A Golden Thread
Oh, had I a golden thread
And needle so fine
I'd weave a tapestry
Of rainbow design
Of rainbow design
Far over the water
I'd weave my magic strand
To every city
Through every single land
Through every land
And in it I would weave the bravery
Of women giving birth
In it I would weave the innocence
Of children over all the earth
Children of all earth
Show my brothers and my sisters
My rainbow design
And bind up this sorry world
With hand and heart and mind
Hand and heart and mind
O had I a golden thread
And needle so fine
I'd weave a tapestry
Of rainbow design
Of rainbow design |
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