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Paulette Meier
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about

This song is an adaptation of an original ballad by union organizer Ella May Wiggins. Wiggins was born in Tennessee in 1900 and by the late 1920s was working in the textile mills of Gastonia, NC. When the National Textile Workers Union came to organize the mills of Gastonia, Wiggins threw herself into labor organizing- giving speeches, doing accounting and advocating for integration of the union. She wrote and performed over a dozen organizing songs during this time, including "Mill Mother's Lament." Wiggins was assassinated by anti-union forces in 1929, and her legacy lives on through her songs.

The original version of this song was to the tune of a popular ballad at the time known as "Little Mary Phagan." In this version, Saro has changed the melody and taken one of the verses and turned it into a chorus in order to make the song accessible for group singing. This song is meant to be shared and sung at organizing rallies, community sings and more so that Ella's legacy is remembered as we all continue our good work.

Saro's voice is accompanied by the excellent harmonies of Avery Book.

The first $100 of sales from this track will go directly to the Union of Southern Service Workers: ussw.org

lyrics

We leave our homes in the morning
We kiss our children goodbye
While we slave for the bosses
Our children scream and cry

Chorus:
But understand all workers
Our union they do fear
Let's stand together workers
And have a union here

And when we draw our money
Our groecery bills to pay
Not a cent to spend for clothing
Not a cent to lay away

And when at home in the evening
Our little ones do say
"We need some shoes dear mother
Our feet were cold today."

It grieves the heart of a mother
You everyone must know
When we can't do for our children
Our wages are too low

It is for our little children
That seem to us so dear
But for us nor them dear workers
The bosses do not care.

credits

released April 23, 2024
Lyrics: Ella May Wiggins, ca 1929
Main vocal and tune arrangement: Saro Lynch-Thomason
Vocal harmonies: Avery Book

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about

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Saro Lynch-Thomason North Carolina

Saro Lynch-Thomason is a ballad singer, song writer, folklorist, documentarian, and illustrator from Asheville, North Carolina. Her passion for traditional music, people’s struggles and Appalachian traditions calls her to perform, teach and produce media that tell the stories and songs of America’s social history. ... more

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