A RADICAL LABOR CLASSIC
Undoubtedly the most popular book in American labor history, the
I.W.W.'s Little Red Song Book has been a staple item on picket lines
and at other workers' gatherings for generations, and has gone through
numerous editions.
As a result of I.W.W. efforts to keep up with the times, however, recent
versions of the songbook have omitted most of the old-time favorites,
especially the raucous lyrics of the free-spirited hoboes who made up
such a large portion of the union's membership in its heyday. For
example, recent versions have left out all but a few of the celebrated
songs of Joe Hill, T-Bone Slim, Ralph Chaplin, and other pioneer bards
of the One Big Union--and many of the few remaining older songs have
been abridged or otherwise modified.
The steadily mounting interest in Wobbly history and culture warrants
this facsimile edition of a classic Little Red Song Book from the
union's Golden Age. Reprinted here is the Nineteenth Edition, originally
issued in 1923, the year the I.W.W. reached its peak membership.
Of the fifty-two songs in this book, the overwhelming majority have not
been included in the I.W.W.'s own songbooks for many years. Here are
such classics as Joe Hill's "John Golden and the Lawrence Strike," "We
Will Sing One Song," "Scissor Bill," "The Tramp," and others; T-Bone
Slim's "I'm Too Old to Be a Scab," "Mysteries of a Hobo's Life," "I
Wanna Free Miss Liberty," and others; Ralph Chaplin's "All Hell Can't
Stop Us," "Up from Your Knees," "May Day Song," and more; and other
songs by C.G. Allen, Richard Brazier, Pat Brennan, James Connolly, Laura
Payne Emerson, and many others.
Ninety years ago these songs were sung with gusto in Wobbly halls and
hobo jungles from Brooklyn to San Pedro. And they're still fun to sing
today!
