Did you ever stop to wonder why the fellows on the job
Refer to Robert Menzies by the nickname Pig-Iron Bob?
It's a fascinating tale though it happened long ago
It's a part of our tradition evey worker ought to know
We wouldn't load pig-iron for the fascists of Japan
Despite intimidation we refused to lift the ban
With democracy at state the struggle must be won
We had to beat the menace of the fascist Rising Sun
It was 1937 and aggressive Japanese
Attacked the Chinese people tried to bring them to their knees
Poorly armed and ill equiped the peasants bravely fought
While Australian water siders rallied round to lend support
Attorney General Menzies said the ship would have to sail
"If the men refuse to load it we will throw them into jail"
But our unity was strong - we were solid to a man
And we wouldn't load pig-iron for the fascists of Japan
For the Judas politicians we would pay a heavy price
The jungles of New Guinea saw a costly sacrifice
There's a lesson to be learned that we've got to understand
Peace can only be secured when the people lend a hand
Refer to Robert Menzies by the nickname Pig-Iron Bob?
It's a fascinating tale though it happened long ago
It's a part of our tradition evey worker ought to know
We wouldn't load pig-iron for the fascists of Japan
Despite intimidation we refused to lift the ban
With democracy at state the struggle must be won
We had to beat the menace of the fascist Rising Sun
It was 1937 and aggressive Japanese
Attacked the Chinese people tried to bring them to their knees
Poorly armed and ill equiped the peasants bravely fought
While Australian water siders rallied round to lend support
Attorney General Menzies said the ship would have to sail
"If the men refuse to load it we will throw them into jail"
But our unity was strong - we were solid to a man
And we wouldn't load pig-iron for the fascists of Japan
For the Judas politicians we would pay a heavy price
The jungles of New Guinea saw a costly sacrifice
There's a lesson to be learned that we've got to understand
Peace can only be secured when the people lend a hand
Contributed by Riccardo Venturi - 2005/6/12 - 21:23
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Testo e musica di Clem Parkinson
Da:Union Songs
Ecco, proprio nel 1938, i lavoratori portuali di Port Kembla, New South Wales, Australia si rifiutarono di stivare sulla nave Dalfram un grosso carico di combustibile carbonfossile (pig-iron) destinato al Giappone. I wobblies, cioè i lavoratori organizzati nell'Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), si scontrarono con padroni e politici ultraconservatori (per i quali "pecunia non olet" mai, soprattutto in tempo di guerra), in particolare con il leader del centro-destra Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, al quale da quel momento venne affibiato l'appellativo di "Pig Iron Bob"...
30 anni più tardi lo stesso Sir Robert Gordon Menzies avrebbe spedito le truppe australiane in Vietnam, reintroducendo persino la coscrizione obbligatoria che era stata precedentemente abolita... Ma nel 1967 i lavoratori portuali di Sidney reagirono come trent'anni prima i loro colleghi di Port Kembla: si rifiutarono di stivare un carico di armi sulla nave Boonaroo diretta in Vietnam...
(fonte: en.wikipedia)