There once was a union maid,
she never was afraid
Of goons and ginks and company finks
and the deputy sheriffs who made the raid.
She went to the union hall
when a meeting it was called,
And when the Legion boys come 'round
She always stood her ground.
Oh, you can't scare me,
I'm sticking to the union,
I'm sticking to the union,
I'm sticking to the union.
Oh, you can't scare me,
I'm sticking to the union,
I'm sticking to the union
'til the day I die.
This union maid was wise
to the tricks of company spies,
She couldn't be fooled by
a company stool,
she'd always organize the guys.
She always got her way
when she struck for better pay.
She'd show her card
to the National Guard
And this is what she'd say
You gals who want to be free,
just take a tip from me:
get you a man who's a union man
and join the ladies' auxiliary.
Married life ain't hard
when you got a union card,
A union man has a happy life
when he's got a union wife. Do
There once was a union maid,
Fa Do
she never was afraid
Fa Do
Of goons and ginks and company finks
Fa Sol
and the deputy sheriffs who made the raid.
She went to the union hall
when a meeting it was called,
And when the Legion boys come 'round
She always stood her ground.
Fa
Oh, you can't scare me,
Do
I'm sticking to the union,
Sol
I'm sticking to the union,
Do
I'm sticking to the union.
Oh, you can't scare me,
I'm sticking to the union,
I'm sticking to the union
'til the day I die.
This union maid was wise
to the tricks of company spies,
She couldn't be fooled by
a company stool,
she'd always organize the guys.
She always got her way
when she struck for better pay.
She'd show her card
to the National Guard
And this is what she'd say
You gals who want to be free,
just take a tip from me:
get you a man who's a union man
and join the ladies' auxiliary.
Married life ain't hard
when you got a union card,
A union man has a happy life
when he's got a union wife. Canti simili
Informazioni
La canzone venne alla luce in un pomeriggio di giugno del 1940, quando W. Guthrie, adattando il suo testo alla musica di una ballata già esistente ("Red wing"), la eseguì su richiesta dell'organizzatore della sede locale del partito comunista, in un ufficietto di Oklahoma City, alla presenza di un piccolo gruppo di operai addetti all'estrazione del petrolio dai giacimenti.
Il primo frammento (di quella che successivamente sarebbe diventata la terza strofa), fu registrato sempre in un pomeriggio, ma del 1946, su un disco in acetato da Moses Asch della Smithsonian ed è l'unico in cui Guthrie esegue personalmente la sua canzone (insieme a P. Seeger che era con lui in quel momento), di cui si conosca l'esistenza (tutte le incisioni successive di "Union maid" infatti, sono eseguite da altri cantanti).
Scheda canto
Autori testo: Woody Guthrie
Periodo: La seconda guerra mondiale e la Resistenza (1939 -1945)
Anno: 1940
Lingua: inglese
Tags: lavoro/capitale, femministi
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