Talking Union
๐ต 3390 characters
โฑ๏ธ 3:52 duration
๐ ID: 9795156
๐ Lyrics
This song was written by Millard Lampell, Lee Hays
And yours truly, Pete Seeger
In the spring of 1941
That was the year that Henry Ford was being organized into the CIO
And Woody Guthrie had taught the three of us the old talking blues
You know, if you want to get to heaven, let me tell you what to do
Got to grease your feet in little muttons too
And I think Millard was sort of paraphrasing that
And Lee added a verse, and I added a verse
And suddenly we had the song almost completed, except that we hadn't found any solution
We'd, all we'd done is add up the problems that we hadn't found how to solve any of them
And about a month went by, and one day I was sitting up in the roof and realized that
There's only one solution to it, the old one will stick together
So I made two verses to end it off, none of them rhymed
And that's how the song "Talking Union" was born
Now, if you want higher wages let me tell you what to do
You got to talk to the workers in the shop with you
You got to build you a union, got to make it strong
But if you all stick together, boys, it won't be long
You get shorter hours, better working conditions
Vacations with pay, take your kids to the seashore
It ain't quite this simple, so I better explain
Just why you got to ride on the union train
'Cause if you wait for the boss to raise your pay
We'll all be awaitin' 'til Judgment Day
We'll all be buried
Gone to heaven
St. Peter'll be the straw boss then, boys
Now you know you're underpaid, but the boss says you ain't
He speeds up the work 'til you're 'bout to faint
You may be down and out, but you ain't beaten
You can pass out a leaflet and call a meetin'
Talk it over, speak your mind
Decide to do somethin' about this
Course, the boss may persuade some poor damn fool
To go to your meetin' and act like a stool
But you can always tell a stool, though, that's a fact
He's got a yaller streak a-runnin' down his back
He doesn't have to stool, you know, he'll always make a good livin'
On what he takes out of blind men's cups
Well, you got a union now, you're sittin' pretty
Put some of the boys on the steering committee
The boss won't listen if one guy squawks
But he's got to listen when the union talks, he better
He'd be mighty lonely, one of these days
Suppose he's working you so hard it's just outrageous
Paying you all starvation wages
You go to the boss and the boss would yell
"Before I raise your pay, I'd see you all in hell"
He's puffing a big seegar, feeling mighty slick
Thinks he's got your union licked
He looks out the window and what does he see
But a thousand pickets, and they all agree
He's a bastard, unfair, slavedriver
Bet he beats his wife
Now boys, you've come to the hardest time
The boss will try to bust your picket line
He'll call out the police, the National Guard
Tell you it's a crime to have a union card
They'll raid your meetin', they'll hit you on the head
They'll call every one of you a goddam red
Unpatriotic, Moscow agents, bomb throwers, even the kids
Well, out in Detroit, here's what they found
Down in Pittsburgh, here's what they found
Down at Bethlehem, here's what they found
Out in Frisco, here's what they found
That if you don't let red-baiting break you up
If you don't let stool-pigeons break you up
If you don't let race hatred break you up
If you don't let vigilantes break you up, you'll win
What I mean, take it easy, but take it
And yours truly, Pete Seeger
In the spring of 1941
That was the year that Henry Ford was being organized into the CIO
And Woody Guthrie had taught the three of us the old talking blues
You know, if you want to get to heaven, let me tell you what to do
Got to grease your feet in little muttons too
And I think Millard was sort of paraphrasing that
And Lee added a verse, and I added a verse
And suddenly we had the song almost completed, except that we hadn't found any solution
We'd, all we'd done is add up the problems that we hadn't found how to solve any of them
And about a month went by, and one day I was sitting up in the roof and realized that
There's only one solution to it, the old one will stick together
So I made two verses to end it off, none of them rhymed
And that's how the song "Talking Union" was born
Now, if you want higher wages let me tell you what to do
You got to talk to the workers in the shop with you
You got to build you a union, got to make it strong
But if you all stick together, boys, it won't be long
You get shorter hours, better working conditions
Vacations with pay, take your kids to the seashore
It ain't quite this simple, so I better explain
Just why you got to ride on the union train
'Cause if you wait for the boss to raise your pay
We'll all be awaitin' 'til Judgment Day
We'll all be buried
Gone to heaven
St. Peter'll be the straw boss then, boys
Now you know you're underpaid, but the boss says you ain't
He speeds up the work 'til you're 'bout to faint
You may be down and out, but you ain't beaten
You can pass out a leaflet and call a meetin'
Talk it over, speak your mind
Decide to do somethin' about this
Course, the boss may persuade some poor damn fool
To go to your meetin' and act like a stool
But you can always tell a stool, though, that's a fact
He's got a yaller streak a-runnin' down his back
He doesn't have to stool, you know, he'll always make a good livin'
On what he takes out of blind men's cups
Well, you got a union now, you're sittin' pretty
Put some of the boys on the steering committee
The boss won't listen if one guy squawks
But he's got to listen when the union talks, he better
He'd be mighty lonely, one of these days
Suppose he's working you so hard it's just outrageous
Paying you all starvation wages
You go to the boss and the boss would yell
"Before I raise your pay, I'd see you all in hell"
He's puffing a big seegar, feeling mighty slick
Thinks he's got your union licked
He looks out the window and what does he see
But a thousand pickets, and they all agree
He's a bastard, unfair, slavedriver
Bet he beats his wife
Now boys, you've come to the hardest time
The boss will try to bust your picket line
He'll call out the police, the National Guard
Tell you it's a crime to have a union card
They'll raid your meetin', they'll hit you on the head
They'll call every one of you a goddam red
Unpatriotic, Moscow agents, bomb throwers, even the kids
Well, out in Detroit, here's what they found
Down in Pittsburgh, here's what they found
Down at Bethlehem, here's what they found
Out in Frisco, here's what they found
That if you don't let red-baiting break you up
If you don't let stool-pigeons break you up
If you don't let race hatred break you up
If you don't let vigilantes break you up, you'll win
What I mean, take it easy, but take it
โฑ๏ธ Synced Lyrics
[00:00.54] This song was written by Millard Lampell, Lee Hays
[00:04.40] And yours truly, Pete Seeger
[00:06.64] In the spring of 1941
[00:09.91] That was the year that Henry Ford was being organized into the CIO
[00:14.89] And Woody Guthrie had taught the three of us the old talking blues
[00:18.76] You know, if you want to get to heaven, let me tell you what to do
[00:21.02] Got to grease your feet in little muttons too
[00:26.12] And I think Millard was sort of paraphrasing that
[00:30.64] And Lee added a verse, and I added a verse
[00:32.99] And suddenly we had the song almost completed, except that we hadn't found any solution
[00:37.84] We'd, all we'd done is add up the problems that we hadn't found how to solve any of them
[00:42.78] And about a month went by, and one day I was sitting up in the roof and realized that
[00:48.54] There's only one solution to it, the old one will stick together
[00:53.54] So I made two verses to end it off, none of them rhymed
[00:58.49] And that's how the song "Talking Union" was born
[01:10.99] Now, if you want higher wages let me tell you what to do
[01:13.25] You got to talk to the workers in the shop with you
[01:15.64] You got to build you a union, got to make it strong
[01:18.31] But if you all stick together, boys, it won't be long
[01:20.53] You get shorter hours, better working conditions
[01:25.56] Vacations with pay, take your kids to the seashore
[01:30.25] It ain't quite this simple, so I better explain
[01:32.45] Just why you got to ride on the union train
[01:34.90] 'Cause if you wait for the boss to raise your pay
[01:37.66] We'll all be awaitin' 'til Judgment Day
[01:39.80] We'll all be buried
[01:42.39] Gone to heaven
[01:44.36] St. Peter'll be the straw boss then, boys
[01:48.88] Now you know you're underpaid, but the boss says you ain't
[01:51.17] He speeds up the work 'til you're 'bout to faint
[01:53.22] You may be down and out, but you ain't beaten
[01:55.52] You can pass out a leaflet and call a meetin'
[01:57.47] Talk it over, speak your mind
[02:02.66] Decide to do somethin' about this
[02:05.74] Course, the boss may persuade some poor damn fool
[02:08.86] To go to your meetin' and act like a stool
[02:10.92] But you can always tell a stool, though, that's a fact
[02:13.56] He's got a yaller streak a-runnin' down his back
[02:15.68] He doesn't have to stool, you know, he'll always make a good livin'
[02:20.56] On what he takes out of blind men's cups
[02:25.75] Well, you got a union now, you're sittin' pretty
[02:28.13] Put some of the boys on the steering committee
[02:30.44] The boss won't listen if one guy squawks
[02:32.60] But he's got to listen when the union talks, he better
[02:36.98] He'd be mighty lonely, one of these days
[02:41.34] Suppose he's working you so hard it's just outrageous
[02:44.19] Paying you all starvation wages
[02:46.23] You go to the boss and the boss would yell
[02:48.28] "Before I raise your pay, I'd see you all in hell"
[02:50.41] He's puffing a big seegar, feeling mighty slick
[02:52.86] Thinks he's got your union licked
[02:54.95] He looks out the window and what does he see
[02:56.96] But a thousand pickets, and they all agree
[02:58.92] He's a bastard, unfair, slavedriver
[03:04.65] Bet he beats his wife
[03:07.53] Now boys, you've come to the hardest time
[03:09.92] The boss will try to bust your picket line
[03:11.94] He'll call out the police, the National Guard
[03:14.10] Tell you it's a crime to have a union card
[03:16.10] They'll raid your meetin', they'll hit you on the head
[03:18.51] They'll call every one of you a goddam red
[03:20.42] Unpatriotic, Moscow agents, bomb throwers, even the kids
[03:28.73] Well, out in Detroit, here's what they found
[03:31.69] Down in Pittsburgh, here's what they found
[03:34.08] Down at Bethlehem, here's what they found
[03:36.17] Out in Frisco, here's what they found
[03:38.05] That if you don't let red-baiting break you up
[03:40.30] If you don't let stool-pigeons break you up
[03:42.43] If you don't let race hatred break you up
[03:44.84] If you don't let vigilantes break you up, you'll win
[03:47.76] What I mean, take it easy, but take it
[03:49.89]
[00:04.40] And yours truly, Pete Seeger
[00:06.64] In the spring of 1941
[00:09.91] That was the year that Henry Ford was being organized into the CIO
[00:14.89] And Woody Guthrie had taught the three of us the old talking blues
[00:18.76] You know, if you want to get to heaven, let me tell you what to do
[00:21.02] Got to grease your feet in little muttons too
[00:26.12] And I think Millard was sort of paraphrasing that
[00:30.64] And Lee added a verse, and I added a verse
[00:32.99] And suddenly we had the song almost completed, except that we hadn't found any solution
[00:37.84] We'd, all we'd done is add up the problems that we hadn't found how to solve any of them
[00:42.78] And about a month went by, and one day I was sitting up in the roof and realized that
[00:48.54] There's only one solution to it, the old one will stick together
[00:53.54] So I made two verses to end it off, none of them rhymed
[00:58.49] And that's how the song "Talking Union" was born
[01:10.99] Now, if you want higher wages let me tell you what to do
[01:13.25] You got to talk to the workers in the shop with you
[01:15.64] You got to build you a union, got to make it strong
[01:18.31] But if you all stick together, boys, it won't be long
[01:20.53] You get shorter hours, better working conditions
[01:25.56] Vacations with pay, take your kids to the seashore
[01:30.25] It ain't quite this simple, so I better explain
[01:32.45] Just why you got to ride on the union train
[01:34.90] 'Cause if you wait for the boss to raise your pay
[01:37.66] We'll all be awaitin' 'til Judgment Day
[01:39.80] We'll all be buried
[01:42.39] Gone to heaven
[01:44.36] St. Peter'll be the straw boss then, boys
[01:48.88] Now you know you're underpaid, but the boss says you ain't
[01:51.17] He speeds up the work 'til you're 'bout to faint
[01:53.22] You may be down and out, but you ain't beaten
[01:55.52] You can pass out a leaflet and call a meetin'
[01:57.47] Talk it over, speak your mind
[02:02.66] Decide to do somethin' about this
[02:05.74] Course, the boss may persuade some poor damn fool
[02:08.86] To go to your meetin' and act like a stool
[02:10.92] But you can always tell a stool, though, that's a fact
[02:13.56] He's got a yaller streak a-runnin' down his back
[02:15.68] He doesn't have to stool, you know, he'll always make a good livin'
[02:20.56] On what he takes out of blind men's cups
[02:25.75] Well, you got a union now, you're sittin' pretty
[02:28.13] Put some of the boys on the steering committee
[02:30.44] The boss won't listen if one guy squawks
[02:32.60] But he's got to listen when the union talks, he better
[02:36.98] He'd be mighty lonely, one of these days
[02:41.34] Suppose he's working you so hard it's just outrageous
[02:44.19] Paying you all starvation wages
[02:46.23] You go to the boss and the boss would yell
[02:48.28] "Before I raise your pay, I'd see you all in hell"
[02:50.41] He's puffing a big seegar, feeling mighty slick
[02:52.86] Thinks he's got your union licked
[02:54.95] He looks out the window and what does he see
[02:56.96] But a thousand pickets, and they all agree
[02:58.92] He's a bastard, unfair, slavedriver
[03:04.65] Bet he beats his wife
[03:07.53] Now boys, you've come to the hardest time
[03:09.92] The boss will try to bust your picket line
[03:11.94] He'll call out the police, the National Guard
[03:14.10] Tell you it's a crime to have a union card
[03:16.10] They'll raid your meetin', they'll hit you on the head
[03:18.51] They'll call every one of you a goddam red
[03:20.42] Unpatriotic, Moscow agents, bomb throwers, even the kids
[03:28.73] Well, out in Detroit, here's what they found
[03:31.69] Down in Pittsburgh, here's what they found
[03:34.08] Down at Bethlehem, here's what they found
[03:36.17] Out in Frisco, here's what they found
[03:38.05] That if you don't let red-baiting break you up
[03:40.30] If you don't let stool-pigeons break you up
[03:42.43] If you don't let race hatred break you up
[03:44.84] If you don't let vigilantes break you up, you'll win
[03:47.76] What I mean, take it easy, but take it
[03:49.89]