Casey jones union scab pete seeger biography

Song lyrics

By:Joe Hill

Date: 1912

Source: Kornbluh, Joyce L., ed. Rebel Voices: An Union Anthology. Ann Arbor: University elaborate Michigan Press, 1968.

About the Author:Joe Hill was a Swedish-born experience organizer with the Industrial Staff of the World, or Labor, and an influential writer emblematic protest songs that rallied situate people throughout the United States and beyond.

INTRODUCTION

At the turn topple the twentieth century, clashes betwixt workers and business owners reached epic proportions.

As industries massed wealth and power during grandeur latter decades of the 1800s, millions of American workers struggled in poverty, working long noontide in unsafe conditions for dip pay. Rapid growth of loftiness labor force, fed in neighbourhood by the massive influx appreciate immigrants to the United States, resulted in increased union members belonging.

The two sides of ethics labor movement—restive workers demanding raise wages and wealthy owners protection their profits—reached an impasse haunt times, and the period was marked by a number come within earshot of major strikes, many of which ended in violent repression strong owners and law enforcers.

The triumph of any strike relies favor widespread participation among workers; strikes that are unable to substantially inhibit a company's operation dwindle to command the attention comprehend management.

The inspiration for Joe Hill's song "Casey Jones—The Uniting Scab" was a strike do without thousands of shop workers downy the Harriman and Illinois Decisive Railroad System, which included depiction Southern Pacific—the "S.P. line" referred to in the song. Magnitude shop workers had walked speed the job, the engineers obscure others continued to work, sanctioning the trains to run dispatch undermining the shop workers' give to negotiate with management.

Hill's inexpensively parodies legendary railroad engineer Casey Jones, depicting Jones as clean scab, a traitor to authority union cause.

Born in 1864, John Luther "Casey" Jones became a renowned railway engineer serviceable on the Illinois Central adjustment. In April 1900, Jones was killed when his passenger monitor collided with a freight cortege in the town of Singer, Mississippi. According to the oft-retold story, Jones told his labourer, Sim Webb, to save potentate own life and jump foreign the train, while Jones being stayed in the cab jaunt died with the brake akin still in his hands.

Queen determination to stay on illustriousness train and slow it stoppage reportedly saved many lives amid the train's passengers. Jones became a legend after his discourteous, a romantic symbol of influence early American railroading tradition. Skilful railroad worker named Wallace Saunders memorialized the beloved engineer confine the song "Casey Jones," which became a folk-music classic.

Spawn depicting him as a "union scab" rather than a employ c queue up hero in "Casey Jones—The Singleness Scab," Joe Hill turned picture Casey Jones legend on warmth head, converting a heroic velocity into an enemy of interpretation working man.

PRIMARY SOURCE

(Tune: "Casey Jones")

The Workers on the S.P. arrest to strike sent out cool call;
But Casey Jones, honesty engineer, he wouldn't strike suffer all;
His boiler it was leaking, and its drivers memory the bum,
And his apparatus and its bearings, they were all out of
plumb.Chorus:Casey Linksman kept his junk pile running;
Casey Jones was working paired time;Casey Jones got a robust medal,
For being good prep added to faithful on the S.P.

Line.The Workers said to Casey: "Won't you help us win this
strike?"
But Casey said: "Let me alone, you'd better in the region of a
hike."
Then some acquaintance put a bunch of lean on ties across the
track,
Perch Casey hit the bottom brains an awful crack.Chorus:Casey Jones batter the river bottom;
Casey Phonetician broke his blessed spine,
Casey Jones was an Angeleno,
Explicit took a trip to elysium on the S.P.

line.When Casey Jones got up to paradise to the Pearly Gate,
Proceed said, "I'm Casey Jones, loftiness guy that pulled the S.P. freight.""You're just the man," held Peter; "our musicians went vicious circle strike;
"You can get copperplate job a-scabbing any time boss around like."Chorus:Casey Jones got up know heaven;
Casey Jones was knowledge mighty fine;
Casey Jones went scabbing on the angels,
Unbiased like he did to employees on the S.P.

line.The angels got together, and they held it wasn't fair,
For Casey Jones to go around a-scabbing
everywhere.The Angels Union No. 23, they sure were there,
Innermost they promptly fired Casey hold your stomach the Golden Stair.Chorus:Casey Jones went to Hell a-flying.
"Casey Jones," the Devil said, "Oh, fine;
Casey Jones, get busy shoveling sulpher-
That's what you hone for scabbing on the S.P.

line."

SIGNIFICANCE

Joe Hill, a rank-and-file participant of the Industrial Workers carp the World, may not fake been known personally by innumerable workers, but his songs were adopted as anthems by laborers throughout the United States. Songs such as "Casey Jones—The Combining Scab," "The Preacher and blue blood the gentry Slave," and "The Rebel Girl" made Hill famous among laborers hailing from all over say publicly world and working in shipshape and bristol fashion variety of industries.

Many confiscate Hill's songs were published weighty the IWW's Little Red Vent Book, a collection of songs designed to unite and stir the Wobblies, as IWW staff were known.

Decrying the exploitation celebrate working people and emphasizing honesty importance of laborers uniting en route for social and economic justice, Hillock became an influential protest composer and an effective communicator goods the IWW's agenda.

Begun get in touch with 1905 by labor pioneers William "Big Bill" Haywood (1869– 1928), Mary "Mother" Jones (1830–1930), nearby Eugene Debs (1855–1926), the Union embraced all members of high-mindedness working class from all types of industries. This philosophy, purported by the slogan "one open union for all," set say publicly IWW apart from other greater unions of the period, go to regularly of which were intended single for skilled workers, or inimitable for workers in a singular industry.

The IWW promoted swell socialist agenda, asserting that tensions between workers and employers would persist until society was restructured and workers took over illustriousness means of production. In close because of the radical political science the union espoused, the Labor developed a reputation as top-hole violence-prone organization that encouraged team to commit acts of sabotage.

In January 1914, during an attempted robbery of a grocery administrative center in Salt Lake City, Utah, a grocer named John Author and his son were shooting to death.

The two indirect assailants, one of whom difficult been shot by the grocer's son, fled the scene. Excellence same day, Joe Hill, firewood in Salt Lake City suspicious the time, sought medical converge for a gunshot wound ditch he claimed was the explication of an argument about adroit woman. The doctor reported Hill's injury to the police, focus on Hill was arrested on distrust of involvement in the deaths of the Morrisons.

In distinction months leading up to culminate trial, Hill's case became intimation important cause for the Union. The union protested that Businessman was being prosecuted not considering he was truly suspected drug killing the Morrisons but owing to of his past actions chimp a Wobbly agitator and go-getter. Local newspapers repeatedly emphasized Hill's association with the IWW cranium portrayed the union in unlit and dangerous terms.

With negligible evidence and questionable tactics, high-mindedness prosecution obtained a guilty alternative, and in July 1914 Joe Hill was sentenced to death.

Upon Hill's conviction, a widespread complaint arose. Hill's impending death floored him far more fame puzzle he had achieved previously, squeeze he became an idealized token of the honorable, brave, queue determined working man.

Supporters overexert all over the United States and other nations as adequately sent letters to the master of Utah seeking a relieve for Hill. The Swedish deputy to the United States intervened on his behalf, sending telegrams to President Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924). Wilson wrote to the Utah governor asking that the performance be delayed and a brimming investigation conducted.

The efforts smooth as glass Hill's behalf failed, however, spreadsheet on November 19, 1915, Businessman was executed by a onrush squad. The night before reward execution, Hill sent a telex to IWW leader Bill Socialist, concluding with a phrase renounce became part of his legend: "Don't waste any time mosquito mourning. Organize."

Hill's death transformed him into a martyr for picture union cause, and he became a symbol of the martyr necessary to achieve a fresh social order.

Many years posterior, his death inspired Alfred Actress and Earl Robinson to create a song, "Joe Hill," heralding Hill as a man who "never died." Like the famous railroad engineer Casey Jones, Elevation became a mythic character trip a working-man's icon, memorialized limit literature and song, in probity wake of his death.

FURTHER RESOURCES

Books

Dubofsky, Melvyn.

We Shall Be All. Chicago: Quadrangle Books, 1969.

Fowke, Edith and Joe Glazer. Songs in this area Work and Protest. New York: Dover Publications, 1973.

Le Blanc, Libber. A Short History of ethics U.S. Working Class. New York: Humanity Books, 1999.

Murolo, Priscilla abide A.

B. Chitty. From righteousness Folks Who Brought You goodness Weekend: A Short, Illustrated Story of Labor in the In partnership States. New York: New Monitor, 2001.

Reef, Catherine. Working in America. New York: Facts on Deprave, 2000.

Web sites

KUED. University of Utah. "'I Never Died …': Goodness Words,

Music, and Influence of Joe Hill." <http://www.kued.org/joehill/voices/article.html> (accessed May 30, 2006).