Lyrics of Labor – Sixteen Tons by Tennessee Ernie Ford A foot-tapping baritone with a gut-punch message: “Sixteen Tons” turns coalfield economics into a four-minute warning about work, debt, and dignity. From company stores and scrip to modern debt tra…

New post is up on WOTS

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Lyrics of Labor – 1913 Massacre by Woody Guthrie The first entry in Lyrics of Labor digs into Woody Guthrie’s “1913 Massacre,” a stark retelling of the Italian Hall disaster in Calumet, Michigan. We walk through the lyrics, the strike behind the song, and how one Christmas Eve tragedy became a lasting indictment of corporate power.

Kicking off a new WOTS series: Lyrics of Labor.

First up is Woody Guthrie’s “1913 Massacre,” a brutal Christmas Eve in a union hall turned into one of the sharpest labor songs ever written.

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