Songtext Union medley Peter, Paul & Mary

Union medley

[You Gotta Go Down And Join The Union / Put It On The Ground / Union Maid / We Shall Not Be Moved / Which Side Are You On?]

You gotta go down and join the union
You got to join it by yourself
Ain't nobody here can join it for you
You gotta go down and join the union by yourself

[Spoken:]
Working in the factories would kill a dog
Working on the belt line killed your soul
Working in the limestone and cement quarries withered your lungs
Working in the cotton mills shot your legs and feet all to hell
And working in the steel mills burned up your spirit
like a gnat that lit in the melting pot
But out of this whole mixing bowl of hell and high water
The working folk have marched against Billy clubs,
against machine guns
And they sang their way through the whole dirty mess

Now, the bank men have got their union, and the
landlords got their union
And the finance men got their union
But down south and out westOn the cotton farms and working in the orchards and fruit crops
It's a jail house offense for a few, common everyday workers
To form them a union and get together for higher wages
Honest pay and fair treatment.
[Woody Guthrie, 1941]

You gotta go down and join the union
You got to join it by yourself
Ain't nobody here can join it for you
You gotta go down and join the union by yourself

If you want a raise in pay all you have to do
Is go and ask the boss for it and he will give it to you
He will give it to you, my boys, he will give it to you
A raise in pay without delay; He will give it to you

Oh, put it on the ground, spread it all around
Dig it with a hoe and it will make your flowers grow

Oh, the men who own the industries they own no bonds or stocks
They own no yachts and limousines or gems the size of rocks
They own no big estates with pools or silken BVD's
Because they pay the working man such fancy salaries

Oh, put it on the ground, spread it all around
Dig it with a hoe and it will make your flowers grow

There once was a union maid who never was afraid
Of the goons and ginks and the company finks
And the deputy sheriff who made the raid
She went to the union hall where a meeting it was called
And when the company boys came around
She always stood her ground

Oh, you can't scare me, I'm sticking to the union
I'm sticking to the union, I'm sticking to the union
Oh, you can't scare me, I'm sticking to the union
I'm sticking to the union 'till the day I die

This union maid was wise to the tricks of the company spies
She couldn't be fooled by the company's stool
She'd always organize the guys
She'd always get her way when she struck for better pay
She'd show her card to the company guard
And this is what she'd say:

Oh, you can't scare me, I'm sticking to the union
I'm sticking to the union, I'm sticking to the union
Oh, you can't scare me, I'm sticking to the union
I'm sticking to the union 'till the day I die

We shall not, we shall not be moved
We shall not, we shall not be moved
Just like a tree that's standing by the water
We shall not be moved

Black and white together
We shall not be moved
Our union is forever
We shall not be moved
Just like a tree that's standing by the water
We shall not be moved

We shall not, we shall not be moved
We shall not, we shall not be moved
Just like a tree that's standing by the water
We shall not be moved

They say in Harlan County there are no neutrals there
You'll either be a union man or a thug for J.H. Blair

Which side are you on, which side are you on?
Which side are you on which side are you on?

Don't scab for the bosses, don't you listen to their lies
Us poor folks haven't got a chance unless we organize

Which side are you on, which side are you on?
Which side are you on which side are you on?