Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

luv2fly

(2,487 posts)
2. Wisconsin's Solidarity Singers
Mon Dec 5, 2022, 12:39 PM
Dec 2022

Wisconsin’s Solidarity Sing Along
Making Old Labor Songs New
by Michael S. O’Brien

Just after noon on a sunny Friday in late June, forty people gather in Madison, on the lawn of the Wisconsin State Capitol building. Some have come with just their voices, while others carry instruments—a few guitars and ukuleles, a trombone and a concertina—to accompany the day’s activities.

“Number two,” calls out Daithi Wolfe, a soft-spoken fiddle player in a baseball cap and sunglasses.

He raises his instrument to his chin and kicks off with a Woody Guthrie classic. Everyone joins in, and the words have a distinctly local flavor: “This land is your land, this land is my land / From Lake Geneva, to Madeline Island / From the rolling prairies / To our lovely dairies / This land is made for you and me.” The song continues, mixing Guthrie’s original words with updated verses that acknowledge the singers’ ongoing conflict with Governor Scott Walker and the Capitol Police: “This House is your House, This House is my House! / From the rotunda to the governor’s office! / Scott Walker will never push us out! / This House was made for you and me!”

More at

https://folkways.si.edu/magazine-summer-fall-2014-wisconsins-solidarity-sing-along-making-old-labor-songs-new/article/smithsonian

Video at



Recommendations

0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

Latest Discussions»Issue Forums»Activist Headquarters»Why Our Movements Need to...»Reply #2