Friday, October 16, 2009

Which Side Are You On? - PART 3

Not too long ago I posted about a great union folk song that folk singer Ani Difranco has been singing at her shows. I believe she first debuted it at Pete Seeger's 90th birthday celebration (pete was born on May 3rd).

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?


"Which Side Are You On" (ani's version) Ani Difranco at the Orpheum Theater, Los Angeles, CA 6/29/09

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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