We are asking one another
as we pass the time of day
Why working men resort to arms
to get their proper pay,
And why our labor unions
they must not be recognized,
While the actions of a syndicate
must not be criticized.
Now the troubles down at Homestead
were brought about this way
When a grasping corporation
had the audacity to say:
"You must all renounce your union
and forswear your liberty,
And we'll give you a chance to live
and die in slavery."
Now the man that fights for honor,
none can blame him.
May luck attend wherever he may roam.
And no son of his will ever live
to shame him.
Whilst Liberty and Honor rule our Home.
Now this sturdy band of working men
started out at the break of day
Determination in their faces
which plainly meant to say:
"No one can come and take our homes
for which we have toiled so long
No one can come and take our places
no, here's where we belong!"
A woman with a rifle
saw her husband in the crowd,
She handed him the weapon
and they cheered her long and loud.
He kissed her and said, "Mary,
you go home till we're through."
She answered,"No. If you must die,
my place is here with you."
Now the man that fights for honor,
none can blame him.
May luck attend wherever he may roam.
And no son of his will ever live
to shame him.
Whilst Liberty and Honor rule our Home.
When a lot of tramp detectives
came without authority
Like thieves at night when decent men
were sleeping peacefully
Can you wonder why all honest hearts
with indignation burn,
And why the slimy worm that treads the earth
when trod upon will turn?
When they locked out men at Homestead
so they were face to face
With a lot of bum detectives
and they knew it was their place
To protect their homes and families,
and this was neatly done
And the public will reward them
for the victories they won.
as we pass the time of day
Why working men resort to arms
to get their proper pay,
And why our labor unions
they must not be recognized,
While the actions of a syndicate
must not be criticized.
Now the troubles down at Homestead
were brought about this way
When a grasping corporation
had the audacity to say:
"You must all renounce your union
and forswear your liberty,
And we'll give you a chance to live
and die in slavery."
Now the man that fights for honor,
none can blame him.
May luck attend wherever he may roam.
And no son of his will ever live
to shame him.
Whilst Liberty and Honor rule our Home.
Now this sturdy band of working men
started out at the break of day
Determination in their faces
which plainly meant to say:
"No one can come and take our homes
for which we have toiled so long
No one can come and take our places
no, here's where we belong!"
A woman with a rifle
saw her husband in the crowd,
She handed him the weapon
and they cheered her long and loud.
He kissed her and said, "Mary,
you go home till we're through."
She answered,"No. If you must die,
my place is here with you."
Now the man that fights for honor,
none can blame him.
May luck attend wherever he may roam.
And no son of his will ever live
to shame him.
Whilst Liberty and Honor rule our Home.
When a lot of tramp detectives
came without authority
Like thieves at night when decent men
were sleeping peacefully
Can you wonder why all honest hearts
with indignation burn,
And why the slimy worm that treads the earth
when trod upon will turn?
When they locked out men at Homestead
so they were face to face
With a lot of bum detectives
and they knew it was their place
To protect their homes and families,
and this was neatly done
And the public will reward them
for the victories they won.
Contributed by Dead End - 2012/9/18 - 09:44
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Testo trovato su Mudcat Café
Non credo che Pete Seeger sia l’autore di questa canzone anche se nell’album dove la esegue - intitolato “Sing-a-Long”, registrato dal vivo nel 1980 al Sanders Theatre di Cambridge, Massachusetts, e pubblicato dalla Smithsonian Folkways Records nel 1992 – non ci sono crediti attribuiti ad altri. In realtà probabilmente il brano risale proprio agli anni immediatamente successivi il grande sciopero del 1892 perchè alcune strofe compaiono in una canzone intitolata “The Trouble Down At Homestead” che il ricercatore folklorico George Korson raccolse a New Kensington, Pennsylvania, dalla voce di un vecchio operaio siderurgico. Anche un’altra ricercatrice e cantante, Ellen Stekert, raccolse la stessa canzone dalla voce di Ezra "Fuzzy" Barhight, un boscaiolo di New York, includendola poi nel suo album del 1958 intitolato “Songs of a New York Lumberjack”. Quindi il brano è sicuramente di molto precedente l’esecuzione di Seeger.
Sullo sciopero e la battaglia di Homestead si veda Father Was Killed by the Pinkerton Men e relativa introduzione.