“We Have
Fed You All A Thousand Years” – “Utah
Phillips sings the songs and tells the stories of the Industrial Workers of the
World.” 1984 Philo Record
This is a
classic record of 18 labor, leftist and revolutionary songs by Utah Phillips,
I.W.W. member and folk singer. Recorded
live in Canada,
he sings, talks, tells stories, jokes and gets his audience into sing-a-longs,
much like Pete Seeger. The song writers
vary from ‘the unknown proletarian’ of the title, to T-Bone Slim, Joe Hill and
Woody Guthrie. Accompanied by his
strumming guitar and strong voice, Phillips makes fun of preachers, religion,
scabs and brown-nose workers. He
takes aim at the bosses and their cops.
He celebrates unions and solidarity.
He pats hoboes and Wobblies (IWW members) on the back.
Classics
include “The Preacher and the Slave,” “Casey Jones – the Union Scab,” “Bread
and Roses,” Hallelujah I’m a Bum,” “Solidarity Forever” and “There is
Power In A Union.” Many of the tunes borrow the melody from
popular songs, twisting them around. “Onward
Christian Soldiers” becomes something else entirely.
Check
Phillips out on You Tube:
Many of
Phillips’ songs are included in a small red booklet of words and music titled “IWW
Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent” sold at May Day. It includes 41 songs that have been sung in
the U.S.
labor movement for years, including The International, Union Maid, Dump the
Bosses Off Your Back, Joe Hill and Banks of Marble. Here in Minneapolis
we had an activist-connected Labor Chorus that attempted to bring back singing to U.S. unionism, a role music had in earlier times in the U.S. union movement. This is
much like the role of singing in the British Labor Party and its associated unions.
Music is a
universal language. May Day carries many
books with left-wing takes on music.
Dylan, Patti Smith, Punk, Joplin,
Grunge, Blues, Folk, Hip Hop, etc. Call
or knock to ask about them.
Prior blog reviews on music, use blog search box, upper left: “In Search of the Blues,” “33 Revolutions Per
Minute,” “The Blues – A Visual History,” “Let Us Now Praise the Dead,” “How the
Beatles Rocked the Kremlin,” “Zappa Plays Zappa,” “Laurel Canyon,” “Life”
(Richards), “Echo in the Canyon,” “Just Kids” (P Smith), “The Long Strange
Trip.”
In Tribute
to John Prine – “Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore.”
The Kulture
Kommissar
April 9,
2020
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