Ani has been singing a song entitled Which Side Are You On. I was originally written in the 1931 by a wife of a union organizer named Florence Reece.
When Reece's husband, Sam, had been targeted for violent intimidation for his unionizing efforts, he fled the county for safety. The men hired by the mine owners terrorized Reese and her children. When the men left, Florence sat at her kitchen table and “Which Side Are You On?” The song has been covered by Billy Bragg, Natalie Merchant, Dropkick Murpheys and others.
Ani's version has been altered to fit more current times and I was hoping to find the lyrics somewhere.
I finally found them on Salon.
The original version is as follows...
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.
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.
They say in Harlan County,
There are no neutrals there.
You'll either be a union man,
Or a thug for J.H. Blair.
Oh, workers can you stand it?
Oh, tell me how you can.
Will you be a lousy scab,
Or will you be a man ?
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?- Original sung by Florence Reece
Thanks to Salon, I just learned that in the 1976 Florence Reece made an appearance and sang her song in the Academy Award winning documentary Harlen County, USA, which chronicled the 1973 coal miners strike against Duke Power Company.
Harlen County USA documentary
I found the dvd on Amazon.com and I will surely be purchasing it.
Here is Ani Difranco's version of the song...
they stole a few elections,
still we the people won
n' voted out corruption and
big corporations
we voted for an end to war
new direction
we ain’t gonna stop now
until our job is done
come on all you workers
this year is our time
get some folks in washington
who cares what’s on our minds
come one-come all voters
lets all vote next time
show ‘em which side are you on now
which side are you on
which side are you on boys
which side are you on
which side are you on boys
which side are you on
which side are you on boys
which side are you on
which side are you on boys
which side are you on
30 years of diggin’
got us in this hole
the curse of reaganomics
has finally taken it’s toll
lord knows that the free market
is anything but free
it costs dearly to the planet
and the likes of you and me
i don’t need those money lenders
suckin’ on my tit
a little socialism
don’t scare me one bit!
we could do a whole lot worse
than europe or canada
c’mon mr president
c’mon congress make the law
which side are you on boys
which side are you on
which side are you on boys
which side are you on
they say in orleans parish
there are no neutrals there
there’s just too much misery
there’s too much despair
america who are we
now our innocence is gone
which side are you on now
which side are you on
too many stories written
out in black and white
c’mon people of privilege
it’s time to join the fight
are we living in the shadow of slavery
or are we moving on
tell me which side are you on girl
which side are you on
which side are you on boy
which side are you on
which side are you on boy
which side are you on
my mother was a feminist
she taught me to see
that the road to ruin is paved
with patriarchy
so, let the way of the women
guide democracy
from plunder and pollution
let mother earth be free
feminism ain’t about women
no, that’s not who it is for
it’s about a shifting consciousness
that’ll bring an end to war
so listen up you fathers
listen up you sons
which side are you on now
which side are you on.
which side are you on boys
which side are you on
which side are you on boys
which side are you on
so are we just consumers
or are we citizens
are we gonna make more garbage
or are we gonna make amends
are you part of the solution
or are you part of the con?
which side are you on now
which side are you on?
The original verion by Florence Reece can be found on a cd entitled Coal Mining Women.
To read the first post about this song and it's significance click here.
To read my second post click here.
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