| Lyrics: | W. B. A.
Go back to yer work, me broth of a boy,
An' shtop all yer strikes an'
yer fuss.
Or divil a wun will get any employ,
An' ye'll soon all be shtarvin' or
wuss.
It's d--d little minin' yer doin' at all;
There's others work betther nor
you.
Yer fit but for ditchin' out in the canawl,
Or workin' wid some railroad
crew.
If minin' don't suit yez, why, go till the Wist,
Or anywhere's out of the
way;
'Twouldn't grieve uz at all if yez all were at rist
'Neath the sod of yer bog in the
say.
So shtart or be off (we're wanting no such)
An' lit those min who want to
work, be:
We've miners enough, both English and Dutch,
An' in your place we'll get
the Chinee.
Note: A real rarity --- an honest-to-God bosses' song. This was
printed by mine operators in 1871 to help crush a miners'
union, the W.B.A (Workingmen's
Benevolent Association.) It
didn't work, and the union persisted until 1875, when
the
Reading company provoked a strike that starved the union
out. See STRK1875
RG
From American Labor Songs of the Nineteenth Century, Foner
tune not supplied, but
sings well to Believe Me If All Those
Endearing Young Charms ( BNDAUST)
@mine @union
@America
filename[ WBASONG
play.exe BNDAUST
RG
===DOCUMENT BOUNDARY |
