On the dark Republic’s bloody ground
On the 30th of May
Oh, brothers, lift your voices high
For them that died that day.
The men who make our country’s steel
The workers in the mills
They said “in union is our strength
In justice is our will”.
We will not be Tom Girdler’s slaves
But free men we will be
List to the voices from their graves
"We died to set you free."
In ordered ranks they all marched on
To picket at the mill
They did not know that Girdler’s cops
Had orders: Shoot to kill!
As they marched on peaceably
Old Glory waving high
Girdler’s gunmen took their aim
And the bullets began to fly.
Thar deep, deep red will never fade
From Republic’s bloody ground
The workers, they will not forget
They’ll sing this song around.
They’ll not forget Republic’s name
Or Girdler’s bloody hands
He’ll be a sign of tyranny
Throughout the world’s broad land.
Men and women of the working class
And you little children too
Remember that Memorial Day
The men who died for you.
On the 30th of May
Oh, brothers, lift your voices high
For them that died that day.
The men who make our country’s steel
The workers in the mills
They said “in union is our strength
In justice is our will”.
We will not be Tom Girdler’s slaves
But free men we will be
List to the voices from their graves
"We died to set you free."
In ordered ranks they all marched on
To picket at the mill
They did not know that Girdler’s cops
Had orders: Shoot to kill!
As they marched on peaceably
Old Glory waving high
Girdler’s gunmen took their aim
And the bullets began to fly.
Thar deep, deep red will never fade
From Republic’s bloody ground
The workers, they will not forget
They’ll sing this song around.
They’ll not forget Republic’s name
Or Girdler’s bloody hands
He’ll be a sign of tyranny
Throughout the world’s broad land.
Men and women of the working class
And you little children too
Remember that Memorial Day
The men who died for you.
Contributed by Bernart Bartleby - 2016/1/14 - 14:10
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Parole e musica di Earl Robinson
Ripresa da Tom Glazer nel 1975 per il suo disco “Songs of Steel and Struggle: The Story of the Steelworkers” edito dalla Folkways Records.
Chicago, 30 maggio 1937. I lavoratori della fabbrica di acciaio Republic Iron and Steel Company protestavano contro il fatto che il loro boss, Tom Girdler, si rifiutava di applicare il nuovo contratto appena siglato tra padroni e sindacato. Si decise per una manifestazione proprio nel giorno del Memorial Day. Un corteo partì dalla sede del sindacato e si diresse verso lo stabilimento della Republic Steel.
Sul tragitto i lavoratori vennero fermati da un drappello di poliziotti: “Get off the field or I'll put a bullet in your back!”, lo dissero e lo fecero… Spararono sulla folla, alla schiena, uccidendo 10 manifestanti e ferendone gravemente altre decine.
Ma, nonostante le evidenze documentali – con tanto di foto e di riprese filmate - l’inchiesta ufficiale terminò con un giudizio di “omicidio giustificabile” e nessuno degli assassini fu mai nemmeno incriminato.