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Winnipeg

from Songs For Today by David Rovics

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Written in preparation for the centenary event celebrating the profoundly influential Winnipeg General Strike of 1919.

lyrics

The war came, men were drafted, many never made it back
Those who did discovered in their absence they'd got the sack
Tenements in squalor, both rats and people getting sick
What they had in common, life was short, death was quick
No one had a plan, what they were going to do
When all the men came back home and the ranks of the unemployed grew
The way the people had to live was no life at all
But it still came as a surprise, how many answered the call

If you weren't there you'll never know just what it was like
When the whole city went on strike

City leaders and newspapers, in many ways they tried
To do everything they could to widen the divide
Between good Canadians and those they called “alien scum”
Between those who missed conscription and those who beat the war drum
But when the veterans marched in Winnipeg they marched for everyone
Under the banner of the working class, the One Big Union
Everybody left their jobs, whether organized or not
Even the policemen walked away, refused to embrace the rot

The mayor deputized the scabs, soon they shot two men
Who died in the city center on the hour when
The scabs rampaged through the city, attacking anyone in the street
Trapping people in alleyways, not even allowing them to retreat
Soldiers occupied the city, people hadn't eaten in weeks
The prospects for victory began to look bleak
People went back to their jobs, if indeed they even could
The bosses said they'd seek revenge and many of them would

Strike leaders were imprisoned, from where several were elected
To the Canadian parliament, and a monument was erected
At Main and Portage, where a street car was overturned
Driven in by strikebreakers on the spot where it was burned
It was a century ago but life is often still defined
By which side you were on on that picket line
Was your grandpa shot in the heart or did they break his leg
When the working class rose up and shut down Winnipeg

credits

from Songs For Today, released June 21, 2019

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David Rovics Portland, Oregon

Singer/songwriter, writer, podcaster (on Spotify, Substack & Patreon), anarchist, dad, lover of life.

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