My first concern when posting this old labor song was that some folks might think I know something about the viability of a certain magazine famous for providing top notch investigative journalism from a progressive perspective. As far as I know, that publication is doing fine.
The song referred to here, author unknown, was written in honour of Mary (“Mother”) Jones, the labor activist who died in 1930. According to archivists, it began to circulate shortly after her death.
As for Mother Jones the person, according to commentary in Songs of Work and Protest, edited by Edith Fowke and Joe Glazer:
Her own four children and her husband – a staunch member of the Iron Moulders Union – all died during the yellow fever epidemic of 1867 – and a few years later Mother Jones became an activist in the the Knights of Labor. She soon won recognition as a fiery speaker, a fearless agitator and organizer, and a great strike strategist. She could not be frightened away by company thugs or state militia. She was threatened with jail – and many times the threats were kept – but she was never intimidated.
They go on to say that “the greatest part of her fighting days she spent with beloved miners,” and that “she spent fifty years fighting on behalf of her “children”: the coal miners and the rest of the working class.”
It does seem a bit unusual that Gene Autry, the iconic singing cowboy and singer of Christmas songs like Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer, would also record a labor protest song to celebrate Mary Harris “Mother” Jones, American labor organizer and co-founder of the Industrial Workers of The World.
I’m sure there’s a story there, I just don’t know what it is.
Here’s the Autry version, which ends with lines that leave no doubt about the political leanings involved:
https://youtu.be/3ujD8LUIzOkMay the workers all get together to carry out her plan
And bring back better conditions for every laboring man.
(Cross-posted at Listening to Now)
Twitter: @RichardKBarry1