Written by Les Rice, 1948; additional verse written and song performed by Fred Holstein - From the album, IWW Rebel Voices: Songs Of The Industrial Workers Of The World, 1987
* * * * *
Lyrics:
We’ve traveled ’round this country,
From shore to shining shore,
And it really made us angry,
The things we heard and saw.
We saw the garment workers,
Pushing rags for all the stores,
Getting paid a few bucks an hour,
Their bosses rich while they are poor.
And the banks are made of marble
With a guard at every door,
And the vaults are stuffed with silver
That the workers sweated for.
And we’ve seen the workers standing
At the employment office door,
And we heard the bosses saying,
“Got no work for you no more.”
And the banks are made of marble
With a guard at every door,
And the vaults are filled with silver
That the workers sweated for.
And we’ve seen the folks on welfare
With no clothes or food to eat,
While the rich man cuts the budget
As he lives on easy street.
And the banks are made of marble
With a guard at every door,
And the vaults are filled with silver
That the workers sweated for.
And we’ve seen the workers fighting
Throughout this bosses land,
And we’re goin’ to get together,
And together make our stand.
Then, we’ll smash the banks of marble
With a guard at every door,
And we’ll share the vaults of silver
That the workers sweated for.
So, let’s smash the banks of marble
And kick the bosses out the door,
And we’ll share the vaults of silver
That we all have sweated for.