Bread and Roses introduced and sung by Utah Phillips.
May Day—the real International Labor Day is sort of a holy day for me and millions of others
who come out of the union movement, socialist, Marxist, anarchist, and immigrant justice movements. The sacrifices
working people are making during the world-wide
Coronavirus pandemic health care workers, first responders of all types,
and as vital parts of our strained food chain and social infrastructure remind us of the
deep connections of solidarity even
if we cannot be on the streets as usual.
So do the demands that governments and employers provide ample personal
protective equipment (PPE) and safe, sanitary working conditions. And
don’t forget the support of working families thrown into deep distress by unemployment—now officially higher
than the depths of the Great Depression—reduced hours and lost tips.
There
are many stirring anthems we could
share today—The International, the song of the international socialist and communist movements; Ralph Chaplain’s Solidarity Forever, the IWW
song that is now the theme of
the American Labor Movement; Talking
Union and Union Maid from the Almanac
Singers with Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and others; and Which
Side Are You On out of the Harlan
County, Kentucky coal mining wars.
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Utah Phillips--a legendary working class bard.
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My
old and dear friend and Fellow Worker the late Utah Philips sang all of them along
with plenty of storytelling putting
them in context. He was a labor bard in the tradition of Joe
Hill, Guthrie and Seeger. He saw his
music and yarns as lessons from the elders
to inspire new generations of rebels and activists. Over nearly 50 years he touched and inspired
many lives, myself included.
Today
we will share Bread and Roses a poem
by James Oppenheim which was set to
music by Caroline Kohlsaat in 1917. During the great 1912 IWW Lawrence Textile strike the multi-ethnic mostly women strikers adopted signs demanding Bread and Roses. The song went on to become both a labor and a
feminist anthem. At the Woodstock
Festival in 1969 Joan Baez sang
a version with a new melody by her
sister Mimi Frariña which is also
now widely sung.
But
we will stick with the original as told and sung by Utah Phillips. He also recorded a version with indie singer/songwriter Ani diFranco.
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