美国之音特别英格尔斯.doc

美国劳动之歌 Most of the world observes Labor Day on May 1. Butthe United States has its workers holiday on the firstMonday in September. Steve Ember and BarbaraKlein have a few songs from the history of theAmerican labor movement. Labor songs are traditionally stories of struggle andpride, of timeless demands for respect and the hopefor a better life. Sometimes they represent old songs with new words. One example is "We Shall Not Be Moved."It uses the music and many of the same words of an old religious song. Here is folksinger Pete Seeger with "We Shall Not Be Moved." Many classic American labor songs came from workers in the coal mines of the South. Mineowners bitterly opposed unions. In some cases, there was open war between labor activistsand coal mine operators. Once, in Harlan County, Kentucky, company police searched for union leaders. They went to oneman's home but could not find him there. So they waited outside for several days. The coal miner's wife, Florence Reece, remained inside with her children. She wrote this song, "Which Side Are You On?" Again, here is Pete Seeger. Probably the most famous labor songwriter in America was Joe Hill. He was born in Sweden andcame to the United States in the early 1900s. He worked as an unskilled laborer. Joe Hill joined the Industrial Workers of the World, known as the Wobblies. More than any otherunion, they used music in their campaigns, urging members to "sing and fight." One of Joe Hill's best-known songs is "Casey Jones." It uses the music from a song about atrain engineer. In the old song, Casey Jones is a hero. He bravely keeps his train running in verydifficult conditions. In Joe Hill's version, Casey Jones is no hero. His train is unsafe. Yet he stays on the job afterother workers have called a strike against the railroad company. Pete Seeger and the Song Swappers sing "Casey Jones (The Union Scab)." Another American labor song is called "Bread and Roses." That term was connected with thewomen's labor movement.