4814. Union Maid (by Woody Guthrie) Melbourne Unitarian Peace Memorial Church

This was the final song I chose for communal singing at last Sunday's service at the Melbourne Unitarian Peace Memorial Church, always a popular song with this congregation.
In May, 1940, Woody Guthrie travelled with Pete Seeger to Oklahoma, where they met up with local Communist Party organisers, Bob and Ina Wood. Ina, a militant feminist, complained that Pete and Woody never sang songs about women in the labour movement. So Woody immediately sat down to write Union Maid to the tune of Red Wing (by Kerry Mills, 1907).
Pete Seeger thought only two of the verses were any good and a year later told Mill Lampell, fellow member of The Almanac Singers, that he had forgotten the others. Lampell went into another room and came back later with the third verse, which they then recorded. It soon became one of Woody Guthrie’s most popular songs.
Lyrics and chords:
D
There once was a union maid,
........ G ............... D
She never was afraid
............ A7 .......................................... D
Of the goons and the ginks and the company finks
.............. A7
And the deputy sheriffs who made the raid.
......... D
She went to the union hall
................ G ................... D
When a meeting it was called,
.......... A7 ..................... D
And when the Legion boys come 'round
....... A7 .......................... D
She always stood her ground.
.............. G ................................................... D
Oh, you can't scare me, I'm sticking to the union,
.............................. A7
I'm sticking to the union,
........ D
I'm sticking to the union.
.............. G ................................................... D
Oh, you can't scare me, I'm sticking to the union,
...... A7 ................................................ D
I'm sticking to the union 'til the day I die.
This union maid was wise
To the tricks of the 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:
We modern union maids
Are also not afraid
To walk the line, leave jobs behind,
We're not just the ladies' aide.
We'll fight for equal pay,
And we will get our way
We're workers too, the same as you,
And we'll fight the union way.
A woman's struggle is hard,
Even with a union card.
She's got to stand on her own two feet
And not be a servant of the male elite.
It's time to take a stand,
Working hand in hand.
There is a job that must be done,
And a fight that must be won.
You can see a playlist of my Woody Guthrie songs here:
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