Manhattan Chorus "Join the Union"




Don't stand there and scratch your head -
Wonderin' if you're alive or dead -
Don't take a floggin', get on the toboggan,
Join the union!

CHORUS:

Weigh thee, lad, and decide
Whether to walk or whether to ride.
Wake up, get on the workers' side -
Join the union!

Don't wait 'round for no relief'
Don't take that from some, be free.
Get out of your slumber, there's power in numbers
Join the union!

(Repeat after each verse)

Don't stand there and scratch your head -
Wonderin' if you're alive or dead -
Don't take a floggin', get on the toboggan,
Join the union!

Don't stand there and scratch your head -
Wonderin' if you're alive or dead -
Don't take a floggin', get on the toboggan,
Join the union!


The source of this song is unclear, but its appearance on the Timely album brought it into the labor movement.

Illustration: Zilphia Horton, ed., Labor Songs (Textile Workers Union of America, 1939)
 

© Copyright Labor Arts Inc.