Political Folk Music .org
The IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) became a singing union on the belief that singing along to a catchy tune effectively educates workers, promotes working class solidarity, and increases morale. Indeed, it was not so many years ago that we used to sing at work to reduce the drudgery and to synchronize movements. While the IWW has kept its Little Red Songbook in print, the emphasis is no longer on performance but on history. I believe, however, that now just as before, we need to be performing these songs socially. That is why I have endeavored to make available to everyone arrangements, lyrics, and midi files of working class songs. Regarding the files included in the songbook, they are intended for educational purposes only and for people to use the files to learn how to perform these songs for themselves. If any copyright owners object to any of the files, please contact the webiste administrator and any offending files will be taken down. Second, I am not a professional musician. I can read sheet music, and I can play the saxophone. I am not a keyboardist. Nor am I a guitarist. I have not studied musical theory. Fortunately, my father, who is a professional musician has helped me with some of the songs. But he does not have the time or energy to help more than he already does. So most of the arrangements I created myself. I am sure trained musicians could improve on my work, but until they do, my efforts are here to encourage everyone from beginner to pro to sing and play these songs in groups. On a personal note, the March 11, 2011 nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan has had a devastating influence on my life. Forced to flea to protect my infant son, I now find myself unemployed without the prospect of employment that pays a living wage. The casualization of work means that companies are only hiring temporary workers with salaries far below the level needed to support a family. At a time when I should be enjoying spending time with my son as he grows from an infant into a man, I am depressed and worried about keeping him safe and financially supporting him. I have no idea how we will live when I exhaust my savings. For those who have children, maybe you can understand how angry I am. I want to feed my child food and water that has no (absolutely none, 0%) man-made radiation, but now it is impossible. The corporate media and the government dishonestly create artificial safety levels habituating us to accept radiation in our food and water. I want my son to grow up in a world governed by the UN Declaration of Human Rights. This would be a world of full employment in which all unemployed are guaranteed public support. All workers and all unemployed would receive living wages or living benefits. Instead, we live in a world of constant insecurity in which our very existence is constantly put into question. I want to live in a world free of war. I want to live in a world with no passports and no visas. I want to live in a world that values sustainability instead of the greedy quest for wealth. I am ashamed that I cannot offer such to my child. At this point in history, we need sustained civil disobedience (as the Wobblies used to say, put our hands in our pockets). If only, all of us in the 99% would put our hands in our pockets and keep them there until our children were guaranteed a peaceful and just world.
Browse all the lyrics, sheet music, and karaoke files in our Songbook
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