Which Side Are You On?

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The song Which Side Are You On? was written in 1931 by Florence Reece (1900–1986).

Florence Reece was the wife of Sam Reece, a unionist for the United Mine Workers in Harlan County , Kentucky . In 1931 the miners in this region found themselves in a bitter and violent labor dispute with the local mine owners. To intimidate the family Reece, invaded the - in the song as "thugs" ( English thug - called) Sheriff JH Blair and his men (hired by the mining company) illegal in the family home one. Sam Reece had been warned beforehand and escaped; so the police only meet Florence and her children and leave after an unsuccessful house search. That same night after the men left, Florence Reece wrote the text for "Which Side Are You On?" On a calendar that hung in the kitchen of her house. As the melody, she took the traditional Baptist hymn "Sing Lay, Sing Lay the Lily Low" or the traditional ballad "Jack Monroe".

Florence Reece also supported the second wave of miners' strikes in 1973. The story of the strikes was told in the 1976 Oscar- winning documentary " Harlan County USA ", in which "Which Side Are You On?" Is sung several times. "Which Side Are You On?" Was sung by many other performers (including Pete Seeger , The Almanac Singers , Deacon Blue , Dropkick Murphys , Natalie Merchant , The Nightwatchman , Ani DiFranco , Panopticon ), with text changed by Billy Bragg . The song is referred to in "Desolation Row" by Bob Dylan , among others . The music project 1,000 Days, 1,000 Songs published the Seeger version of the title on its website in March 2017 as a protest against the policies of US President Donald Trump .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Steve Leggett: Harlan County USA: Songs of the Coal Miner's Struggle - Various Artists | Songs, reviews, credits. In: allmusic.com, accessed on December 15, 2018: “'Which Side Are You On?' (based on the melody of the traditional 'Lay the Lily Low' by Florence Reece) ".
  2. ↑ YPA: Florence Reece "Which side are you on?" Protest song. The story behind the song "Which side are you on?" By Florence Reece. In: Friday . February 6, 2012, accessed on January 3, 2016 (a blog from the Friday community).
  3. ↑ Kim Ruehl: "Which Side Are You On?" History of an American folk song. (No longer available online.) In: folkmusic.about.com. The New York Times Company , archived from the original on March 6, 2012 ; Retrieved December 15, 2018 (American English).
  4. ^ Robert B. Waltz, David G. Engle: Jack Monroe (Jackie Frazer; The Wars of Germany) [Laws N7]. In: csufresno.edu. The Ballad Index, 2018, accessed December 15, 2018.
  5. ^ Search for "Lay the Lily Low". In: vwml.org, Vaughan Williams Memorial Library, accessed December 15, 2018.
  6. ↑ Harlan County in the Internet Movie Database , accessed January 3, 2016.
  7. ↑ Vinterskald: Panopticon - Which Side Are You On? on YouTube , accessed April 23, 2019.
  8. ↑ 1,000 Days, 1,000 Songs. In: 30days30songs.com. Dave Eggers , Jordan Kurland, accessed March 28, 2017 .