Continuing our series of songs in labour history, Keith Laybourn discusses a protest ballad performed throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first by some of the biggest names in American music. ‘I Dreamed, I Saw Joe Hill Last Night’ is often known as ‘The Ballad of Joe Hill’. I first came across this ballad in the 1960s through a combination of events. From the … Continue reading In tune: The Ballad of Joe Hill
Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs provides a lesson in the origins of capitalism, writes Quentin Outram. Heigh-Ho*Dwarfs Chorus (Larry Morey and Frank Churchill, 1937) ‘Heigh-ho, heigh-ho, it’s home from work we go’ sing the seven dwarfs as they walk over a fallen log on their way home, tired but cheerful. But there is something odd; in fact several things are a bit … Continue reading In tune: Heigh-Ho
There could hardly be a series on songs in labour history without reference to the Strawbs. But, asks Mark Crail, was this a celebration or a condemnation of trade unions? Part of the Union The Strawbs (Richard Hudson and John Ford, 1973) There is nothing subtle about Part of the Union. From it’s opening ‘Now I’m a union man / Amazed at what I am’ … Continue reading In tune: Part of the Union
A song commemorating the Luddite attack on Foster’s Mill survives only in fragments but helps provide an insight into community solidarity in this early period of labour history, writes Joe Stanley. Foster’s MillBill Price (traditional) Most labour historians will be familiar with West Riding Luddism in 1812. E.P. Thompson paid particular attention to the movement, and stressed its political undertones, in chapter 14 of The … Continue reading In tune: Foster’s Mill
In the third of our continuing series on labour history in song, Constance Bantman shares Massilia Sound System’s take on deindustrialization and gentrification in Marseille. Des MétallosMassilia Sound System (Massilia Sound System, 1995) Trust the famously political Marseillais reggae band Massilia Sound System to write a song dissecting the deindustrialization and gentrification of France’s second largest city and make a joyful banger out of it. … Continue reading In tune: Des Métallos
In the second of our ‘In tune’ series on music and labour history, ballad singer Jennifer Reid introduces a song about a travelling loom engineer – and a young woman in need of his services – that is guaranteed to make you smile. The Bury New LoomJennifer Reid (traditional) I once sang The Bury New Loom for an event at Manchester International Festival in collaboration … Continue reading In tune: The Bury New Loom
Opening a website series on songs associated with labour history, John McIlroy looks at ‘The Working Class in Twentieth-Century Song: A Fan’s Notes[1]’ arguing that researching the genealogy of songs, finding new ones, rediscovering old ones, exploring the cultural ambience in which they were created and performed is part of the folklorist’s mission and the historian’s brief. Find out more about this series. IntroductionThe Great … Continue reading The Working Class in Twentieth-Century Song: A Fan’s Notes
Dramatists have been slow to pick up on the events at the heart of the great strike of 1842 and its complex relationship with Chartism. Michael Crowley, the author of Waiting for Wesley, explains how he went about bringing the story to life on stage Waiting for Wesley is being staged at Calderdale Industrial Museum on Sunday 6 August at 3pm Tickets are available via … Continue reading Chartism, the great strike of 1842 and the possibilities of drama
Mike Sanders, Professor of Nineteenth Century Literature & Culture at the University of Manchester and a member of the Society’s executive committee, delivered his inaugural professorial lecture at the John Rylands Library on Wednesday 31 May. The lecture was titled ‘Singing Sweet Liberty’: John Stafford and the creation of radical memory from Luddism to Chartism. The lecture explored the role played by song in creating … Continue reading ‘Singing Sweet Liberty’: Michael Sanders’ inaugural professorial lecture
Who wrote The Red Flag – and are you singing it all wrong? This brief history of a labour movement classic has some answers. Jim Connell was travelling the short distance home with friends by train from Charing Cross to New Cross after a meeting one evening shortly after the London Dock Strike of 1889 when he wrote the first two stanzas and chorus of … Continue reading The Red Flag and the White Cockade
Society for the Study of Labour History 