Dept. of Workers of the World Unite
May Day
(Originally posted on Dreamwidth, 1st May. Crossposted manually.)
Here in the U.S. and up in Canada, corporate greed-head capitalists and their political minions decided they'd move Labor's holy day from May 1 to September, because they were scared to death of the international labor movement. As well they should have been, and should still be.*
Rather than me go on at utterly mind-numbing length, here's music to celebrate the day, because the revolution should always have music.
I don't mind sharing "The Internationale", because a) this is Billy Bragg's version and b) folks who connect the song to the USSR and/or Russia forget that the Revolution over there was betrayed by Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov almost before it drew its first breath.* And the words are pretty inspiring.
I share these two versions of Woody Guthrie's "Union Maid" because that's who I have striven to be all my working life. Pete Seeger's version will never not be wonderful, even if some of Woody's words are a tad ... let's go with old-fashioned (Pete's last lines in this version made me giggle; it's clear he thought the whole "auxiliary" bit was worth at least a little eye-roll.)
The second version was done at Pete's 90th birthday celebration, features Bragg again, among wonderful others, and updates the words a bit.
And finally, you have to ask yourself - "Which Side Are You On"?
*Fucking capitalists
**Fucking Lenin
(Originally posted on Dreamwidth, 1st May. Crossposted manually.)
Here in the U.S. and up in Canada, corporate greed-head capitalists and their political minions decided they'd move Labor's holy day from May 1 to September, because they were scared to death of the international labor movement. As well they should have been, and should still be.*
Rather than me go on at utterly mind-numbing length, here's music to celebrate the day, because the revolution should always have music.
I don't mind sharing "The Internationale", because a) this is Billy Bragg's version and b) folks who connect the song to the USSR and/or Russia forget that the Revolution over there was betrayed by Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov almost before it drew its first breath.* And the words are pretty inspiring.
Click to viewI share these two versions of Woody Guthrie's "Union Maid" because that's who I have striven to be all my working life. Pete Seeger's version will never not be wonderful, even if some of Woody's words are a tad ... let's go with old-fashioned (Pete's last lines in this version made me giggle; it's clear he thought the whole "auxiliary" bit was worth at least a little eye-roll.)
The second version was done at Pete's 90th birthday celebration, features Bragg again, among wonderful others, and updates the words a bit.
And finally, you have to ask yourself - "Which Side Are You On"?
*Fucking capitalists
**Fucking Lenin