Woody Guthrie: All You Fascists

[ailsagirl]

I'm listening to Billy Bragg & Wilco, Mermaid Avenue Vol. II

The words to every song on this CD are from Guthrie, set to the music of Billy Bragg and some others.

I can't believe how relevant the words to so many of the songs are-- particularly "All You Fascists" ("You're bound to lose...")

Guthrie wrote it in 1942!!

Man, he was the real pioneer of protest music

[Eric J in MN]

1. Are they bound to lose? When? (nt)

nt

[JanMichael]

7. Damn dude, you haven't heard the song?

Here's the relevant lyrics:

People of every color marching side by side
Marching across these fields where a million fascists died
You're bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose

All you fascists are bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
You're bound to lose, you fascists
Are bound to lose

I'm going into this battle, take my union gun
Gonna end this world of slavery before this war is won
You're bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose

All you fascists are bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
You're bound to lose, you fascists
Are bound to lose

I said, all you fascists are bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
You're bound to lose, you fascists
Are bound to lose

====================================

That means the economic fascists too:-)

[ailsagirl]

9. Great, UPLIFTING song-- played it yesterday a couple of times

Very loudly in my car... feeling good.

[Clark2008]

12. I'm a Southern gal and thank God, so were my parents

and so were they into folk music and old country...

I know the song well.

And I sang it at fireside on chilled campers' nights.

Now I sing it with tears.

[ailsagirl]

25. I'm sure you know the song "I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill..."

I first heard it on "Woodstock" when Joan Baez sang it.

I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night

I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night,
Alive as you or me
Says I, "But Joe, you're ten years dead,"
"I never died," says he
"I never died," says he

"In Salt Lake, Joe," says I to him,
Him satnding by my bed,
"They framed you on a murder charge,"
Says Joe, "But I ain't dead,"
Says Joe, "But I ain't dead."

"The copper bosses killed you, Joe,
They shot you, Joe," says I.
"Takes more than guns to kill a man,"
Says Joe, "I didn't die,"
Says Joe, "I didn't die."

And standing there as big as life
And smiling with his eyes
Joe says, "What they forgot to kill
Went on to organize,
Went on to organize."

"Joe Hill ain't dead," he says to me,
"Joe Hill ain't never died.
Where working men are out on strike
Joe Hill is at their side,
Joe Hill is at their side."

"From San Diego up to Maine,
In every mine and mill,
Where workers strike and organize,"
Says he, "You'll find Joe Hill,"
Says he, "You'll find Joe Hill."

I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night,
Alive as you or me
Says I, "But Joe, you're ten years dead,"
"I never died," says he
"I never died," says he

----------------------------------------------------------------- Music by Earl Robinson, copyright 1938 by Bob Miller, Inc. Joe Hill, a union organizer and poet, was executed in 1915 on a murder charge which union circles have always considered a frame-up. This song, written in his memory, is one of the most moving of all the labor songs.

[BrklynLiberal]

2. That was written a couple of blocks from where I live, in Coney Island

I believe the house where he lived is still there on Mermaid Avenue.

[ailsagirl]

3. Wow!! It's a fantastic CD

Words, full of grit... music lilting and rather haunting.

I didn't know the history of the man so I looked him up last night-- amazing... amazing man.

Can you tell me anything more about Guthrie/Mermaid Avenue?

Here's a link to the CD-- that must be Mermaid Avenue on the cover? (Don't know the significance of the huge tabby, other than I have a cat that looks just like it)

http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?style=music&pid=1096342&cart=226096256

[Warpy]

4. Check out Billy Bragg's update

of the Internationale on the CD of the same name.

He's done it a great service.

The rest of the CD is great, too

[ailsagirl]

8. Will do! Thanks

[OneBlueSky]

5. that's why he's my avatar . . .

big Woody fan ever since Pete Seeger introduced me to his life and music many years ago . . . a great American poet and songwriter . . . and a really strange little man . . . :)

[ailsagirl]

6. Why was he strange? I know next-to-nothing about him...

You knew Pete Seeger?? Of "Little Boxes" fame?? Another pioneer.

[NeoTraitors]

15. Woody Guthrie was a modern

day folkhero- like Paul Bunyan only real. This man travelled the hard roads and rails of this country singing songs of freedom. Guthrie inspired Bob Dylan immeasurably. We all wish Dylan would've
'stuck it to the man' more like Woody did.

Woody was very active politically with unions and just spreading the word of the value of mankind to every campfire or hang-out he was ever at.

Woody's autobiography is called 'Bound for Glory.' I would recommend reading that book or seeing the movie of the same name. But check him out. We all can be like him in our own way with whatever talents we possess. Fight Fascism!

[since72]

18. Pete sang it, but...

Little Boxes was written by another lesser known rabble rouser, Malvina Reynolds

[OneBlueSky]

36. I've known Pete since about 1969 . . .

worked with him on the Clearwater project in the early 70s, and we've kept in touch off and on over the years . . . I still run into him every now and then at a Clearwater event, and every so often I'll get a postcard about this or that . . . Pete's one of my heros, and the person who made me a committed environmentalist . . .

[JohnOneillsMemory]

10. As an audio engineer, I've gotten to work with Arlo Guthrie a few times.

I do live concerts and used to live in western Mass. where Arlo lives. He played at my club a few times and I loved him and was in awe of his lineage, father Woody being a real fascist fighter.

Arlo performs with his talented son Abe. As Abe loaded instruments out the stage door, I asked him to urge his father to take up Woody's fascism fight because it is desperately needed. I'm not sure what Abe thought of what I said....

Americans used to know fascism when they saw it back in the 1930s. Economic eugenics, not machine guns, was the usual hallmark of fascism.

Hitler put a lot more violence into the perceived definition than the usual union-busting thugs in America. The bankers like Prescott Bush who paid for the rise of Hitler to power have used money as a weapon to maintain plausible denyability.

"Fascism is not defined by the number of its victims, but by the way it kills them." -- Sartre

[seemslikeadream]

20. WHEN A SOLDIER MAKES IT HOME

http://www.thememoryhole.org/war/coffin_photos/dover/pa...

WHEN A SOLDIER MAKES IT HOME

Halfway around the world tonight
In a strange and foreign land
A soldier packs his memories
As he leaves Afghanistan
And back home they don't know too much
There's just no way to tell
I guess you had to be there
For to know that war was hell

And there won't be any victory parades
For those that's coming back
They'll fly them in at midnight
And unload the body sacks
And the living will be walking down
A long and lonely road
Because nobody seems to care these days
When a soldier makes it home

They'll say it wasn't easy
Just another job well done
As the government in Kabul falls
To the sounds of rebel guns
And the faces of the comrades
Being blown out of the sky
Leaves you bitter with the feeling
That they didn't have to die

Halfway around the world tonight
In a strange and foreign land
A soldier unpacks memories
That he saved from Vietnam
Back home they didn't know too much
There was just no way to tell
I guess you had to be there
For to know that war was hell

And there wasn't any big parades
For those that made it back
They flew them in at midnight
And unloaded all the sacks
And the living were left walking down
A long and lonely road
Because nobody seemed to care back then
When a soldier made it home

The night is coming quickly
And the stars are on their way
As I stare into the evening
Looking for the words to say
That I saw the lonely soldier
Just a boy that's far from home
And I saw that I was just like him
While upon this earth I roam

And there may not be any big parades
If I ever make it back
As I come home under cover
Through a world that can't keep track
Of the heroes who have fallen
Let alone the ones who won't
Which is why nobody seems to care
When a soldier makes it home

-Arlo Guthrie

[ailsagirl]

30. Powerful words-- when did Arlo write that, do you know??

[ailsagirl]

27. I've always loved "Alice's Restaurant"-- really hilarious

Was listening to Randi Rhodes the other day and she maintains the reason there aren't any new protest songs is because they'd never be played on the radio. Or else, there are protest songs that never make it to the radio. I had assumed it was because they weren't "in style" but I'm wondering if she might very well be right.

Thank God there are lots of them (the old ones) still available.

[Clark2008]

13. Pete Seeger is a monument!

But not so strange. :)

This land is your land, this land is my land
From California, to the New York Island
From the redwood forest, to the gulf stream waters
This land was made for you and me

As I was walking a ribbon of highway
I saw above me an endless skyway
I saw below me a golden valley
This land was made for you and me

I've roamed and rambled and I've followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts
And all around me a voice was sounding
This land was made for you and me

The sun comes shining as I was strolling
The wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling
The fog was lifting a voice come chanting
This land was made for you and me

As I was walkin' - I saw a sign there
And that sign said - no tress passin'
But on the other side .... it didn't say nothin!
Now that side was made for you and me!


In the squares of the city - In the shadow of the steeple
Near the relief office - I see my people
And some are grumblin' and some are wonderin'
If this land's still made for you and me.

[stevebreeze]

19. I love Pete, listened to him last night on CD, but Woody wrote this land

Moreover he wrote it in response to "God Bless America". Woody thought we should take care of America our selves and not just hope God does it for us. This land is your land is not the original title or the original chorus. It was "God Blessed America for me"

here is the lyric for an additional verse Woody wrote.

"One bright sunny morning
In the shadow of the steeple
By the relief office I saw my people
As they stood hungry, I stood there wondering
If God blessed America for me."

[ConsAreLiars]

11. "This machine kills fascists"

was written on the guitar he played. Pics here:
http://www.smithsonianmag.si.edu/smithsonian/issues00/may00/images/woody3_jpg.html

(edit "machine" instead of "guitar")

[ailsagirl]

31. I read he had that on his guitar-- never seen a photo

Thanks for posting that. I'm blown away by Guthrie-- I'll have to buy some books, I can see

[Elwood P Dowd]

14. Those people are communists.

I went to an estate sale a couple of years ago. There were several LPs and CDs for sale cheap. There was also a small selection the lady said were free. Pete Seager, The Weavers, Peter, Paul, & Mary - great old folk stuff from the 50s and 60s. Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant" was one of the few 70s items in that bunch. The lady said they were free because they were not charging for the stuff done by communists and America hating folk liberals (or something like that).

A friend of a friend called up a chain store that sells CDs, DVDs, and used CDs/LPs because they had a "Folk" section. This religious nut told them folk music was inspired by the devil.

What's happening in this country is amazing, yet sad. We're watching a re-run of Nazi Germany in the 1930s, and most don't even realize it. The propaganda has been slow, subtle, but sure the past 10 years. It's starting to take root with a huge segment of the population.

[NeoTraitors]

16. Kick for Woody

A poster seemed interested in learning more about Guthrie. We all need to BE him in our own way right now!

[ailsagirl]

33. I'm sure he encountered lots of opposition, but he kept going

God, I admire those people-- they give me hope, they inspire me, they give me perspective. We aren't the only ones who ever lived under a fascist regime-- we must fight it-- we WILL fight it, damnit!!

David Lytel is a modern day pioneer-- I admire him tremendously. We have millions of people who feel the way we do... we need to organize.

There is no other choice.

[ElkHunter]

17. I first heard that song...

...when Air America's Majority Report started using it as their theme song. I love it! But until today I did not know it was written my Woody Guthrie. All the better.

[ailsagirl]

24. Yes, he wrote the words, Billy Bragg the music--

Very catchy!!

I highly recommend the CD-- some really fantastic songs on there.

[phusion]

21. Chumawamba - Enough is Enough (kick it over)

Open your eyes, time to wake up
Enough is enough is enough is enough
Open your eyes, time to wake up
Enough is enough is enough is enough
Enough is enough is enough
Give the fascist man a gunshot
Enough is enough is enough
Give the fascist man a gunshot
You know Vienna, under heavy manners
What's going on? What the hell is going on?
We all sit waiting, waiting, for the tide to turn
The history lesson that we forgot to learn
Smoother words, smoother words
Nicer suits, nicer suits
Don't be fooled, they're still wearing jackboots
The words get tired when you hear them every day
The Nazis changed but they never went away
Open your eyes, time to wake up
Enough is enough is enough is enough
Open your eyes, time to wake up
Enough is enough is enough is enough
Enough is enough is enough
Give the fascist man a gunshot
Enough is enough is enough
Give the fascist man a gunshot
We got bored and tired, it wasn't hip anymore
They were playing our tune but it was clearing the dance floor
How many of us does it take to change a light-bulb?
Answer: it's easier to stay in the dark
So here we go again, same idea, different song
Where have all the anti-fascists gone?
The words get tired when you hear them every day
The Nazis changed but they never went away
Open your eyes, time to wake up
Enough is enough is enough is enough
Open your eyes, time to wake up
Enough is enough is enough is enough
Remember to kick it over, remember to kick it over
Open your eyes, time to wake up
Enough is enough is enough is enough
(repeats) Open your eyes, time to wake up
Open your eyes, give the fascist man a gunshot
Enough is enough is enough is enough
(repeats)
Remember to kick it over, remember to kick it over
Remember
Where have all the anti-fascists gone?
Remember to kick it over, remember to kick it over
Where have all the anti-fascists gone?
Remember to kick it over, remember to kick it over
Remember
Remember to kick it over, remember to kick it over
(repeats)

[ailsagirl]

29. Great lyrics-- bet it's a kicker when set to music

[ConsAreLiars]

35. "Enough is Enough" mp3 is here:

http://microsites.nme.com/downloads/mp3/Chumbawamba_EnoughIsEnough.mp3

Well worth a listen.

[spanone]

22. Woody was all the inspriration Bob Dylan needed.

Woody had a sign on his guitar that said 'this machine kills facists'.
edit: sp

[shrike]

23. The Lindberghs liked fascism

So did a lot of Americans. Anne Morrow Lindbergh wrote an essay about fascism being the "government of the future."

[KG]

26. check out my sig.,,,

[ailsagirl]

28. YES!! Love it!!

[Comicstripper]

32. I was staring at that CD RIGHT before I clicked this link

It's a great song.

I'm gonna tell all you fascists, you may be surprised
People all over this world are getting organized
You're bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose

Race hatred cannot stop us, this one thing I know
Poll tax and Jim Crow and greed have got to go
You're bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose

All you fascists are bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
You're bound to lose, you fascists
Are bound to lose

People of every color marching side by side
Marching across these fields where a million fascists died
You're bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose

All you fascists are bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
You're bound to lose, you fascists
Are bound to lose

I'm going into this battle, take my union gun
Gonna end this world of slavery before this war is won
You're bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose

All you fascists are bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
You're bound to lose, you fascists
Are bound to lose

I said, all you fascists are bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
You're bound to lose, you fascists
Are bound to lose

[ailsagirl]

34. hmmm... interesting!!

[AP]

37. Those words are relevant because what is happening now is what

would have happened if a Republican had been president during WW2.