Which Side Are You On?

Which Side Are You On?

słowa: Florence Reece, 1931 / Billy Bragg, 2011
muzyka: Florence Reece, 1931

[Am]Which side are you [Em]on boys?
Which side are you [Am]on?
Tell me which side are you [Em]on girls?
Which side are you [Am]on?

Come [Am]all you good workers
Good [Em]news to you I’ll [Am]tell
Of [Em]how the good old [Am]union
Has [Em]come in here to [Am]dwell

Which side are you on boys…

My daddy was a miner
He’s now in the air and sun
He’ll be with you fellow workers
Until the battle’s won

Which side are you on…

They say in Harlan County
There are no neutrals there
You’ll either be a union man
Or a thug for J. H. Blair

Which side are you on…

Oh workers can you stand it?
Oh tell me how you can
Will you be a lousy scab
Or will you be a man?

Which side are you on…

Don’t scab for the bosses
Don’t listen to their lies
Poor folks ain’t got a chance
Unless they organize

Which side are you on…


W 2011 r., podczas akcji „Occupy Sheffield”, Billy Bragg wykonywał tę piosenkę z innym tekstem, napisanym specjalnie na tę okazję:

[Am]Clem Atlee held the bankers to their responsibilities
You made them pay their taxes – but [Em]Thatcher set them [Am]free
The [Am]Big Bang blew the walls down, the bankers got away
They filled their snouts till we bailed them out, now [Em]everyone must [Am]pay

Which side are you [Em]on?
Which side are you [Am]on?
Which side are you [Em]on?
Which side are you [Am]on?

The Left is dead, the media said, that’s a goddamn lie
That which they could never kill went on to „Occupy”
In the camps the watchword is 'accountability’
In Wall Street and in London we demand transparency

Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?

We have the best democracy that Big Money can buy
The markets call the tune and soon our leaders all comply
Come, all you greedy bankers, you pessimists as well,
We’re here today to chase you away and build a better world

Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?

Through this world you travel, you meet some funny men
Some rob you with a six-gun and some with a fountain pen
Through this slog you ramble, through this slog you roam,
You’ll never see an outlaw take a family from their home

Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?


Utwór napisała Florence Reece, żona Sama Reece’a, organizatora Związku Górników Amerykańskich w hrabstwie Harlan w Kentucky. W roku 1931 trwała tzw. Wojna w Harlan County pomiędzy górnikami a właścicielami kopalń, podczas której do domu rodziny Reece wtargnął sierżant J. H. Blair wraz z ludźmi wynajętymi przez kopalnie, by zgarnąć Sama, który zdołał wcześniej uciec. Florence i dzieci zostały sterroryzowane, a kobieta następnego dnia napisała piosenkę, którą po latach wykonywały dziesiątki artystek i artystów (jak Billy Bragg, Pete Seeger, Natalie Merchant czy Tom Morello) w zmienionych tekstowo i muzycznie wersjach.

Solidarity forever

Solidarity forever

słowa: Ralph Chaplin, 1915
muzyka: trad. / William Steffe

[G]Solidarity forever,
[C]Solidarity for[G]ever,
Solidarity for[Em]ever,
For the [Am]union [D7]makes us [G]strong!

When the [G]union’s inspiration through
the workers’ blood shall run,
There can [C]be no power greater
any[G]where beneath the sun;
Yet what force on earth is weaker
than the [Em]feeble strength of one,
But the [Am]union [D7]makes us [G]strong.

Solidarity forever…

Is there aught we hold in common with the greedy parasite,
Who would lash us into serfdom and would crush us with his might?
Is there anything left to us but to organize and fight?
For the union makes us strong.

Solidarity forever…

It is we who plowed the prairies; built the cities where they trade;
Dug the mines and built the workshops, endless miles of railroad laid;
Now we stand outcast and starving midst the wonders we have made;
But the union makes us strong.

Solidarity forever…

All the world that’s owned by idle drones is ours and ours alone.
We have laid the wide foundations; built it skyward stone by stone.
It is ours, not to slave in, but to master and to own.
While the union makes us strong.

Solidarity forever…

They have taken untold millions that they never toiled to earn,
But without our brain and muscle not a single wheel can turn.
We can break their haughty power, gain our freedom when we learn
That the union makes us strong.

Solidarity forever…

In our hands is placed a power greater than their hoarded gold,
Greater than the might of armies, multiplied a thousand-fold.
We can bring to birth a new world from the ashes of the old
For the union makes us strong.

Solidarity forever…


Solidarity Forever to prawdopodobnie najsłynniejszy hymn związkowy. Śpiewany na melodię John Brown’s Body oraz The Battle Hymn of the Republic (znanej też jako „Glory! Glory! Hallelujah”), napisany został przez aktywistę i artystę, Ralpha Chaplina (autora czarnego kota, symbolu anarchosyndykalistów) w 1915 r. w Chicago.

Chaplin rozpoczął pisanie rok wcześniej podczas strajku górniczego w Huntington. Choć utwór został napisany jako piosenka amerykańskiego rewolucyjnego związku zawodowego Robotnicy Przemysłowi Świata (Industrial Workers of the World, IWW), inne ruchy związkowe zaadoptowały tę piosenkę jako swoją.

Zobacz też wersję polską tej piosenki: „Solidarność naszą bronią”.

This Land Is Your Land

This Land Is Your Land

słowa: Woody Guthrie, 1940
muzyka: trad.

[G]This land is [C] your land, this land is [G]my land,
From Calif[D]ornia to the New York [G]Island,
From the Redwood [C]forests to the Gulf Stream wa[G]ters;
[D]This land was [D7]made for you and [G]me.

This land is your land This land is my land
From California to the New York island;
From the red wood forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and Me.

As I was walking that ribbon of highway,
I saw above me that endless skyway:
I saw below me that golden valley:
This land was made for you and me.

I’ve roamed and rambled and I followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts;
And all around me a voice was sounding:
This land was made for you and me.

When the sun came shining, and I was strolling,
And the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling,
As the fog was lifting a voice was chanting:
This land was made for you and me.

As I went walking I saw a sign there
And on the sign it said „No Trespassing.”
But on the other side it didn’t say nothing,
That side was made for you and me.

In the shadow of the steeple I saw my people,
By the relief office I seen my people;
As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking
Is this land made for you and me?

Nobody living can ever stop me,
As I go walking that freedom highway;
Nobody living can ever make me turn back
This land was made for you and me.

(Wersety dodane przez Pete’a Seegera)

Maybe you’ve been working as hard as you’re able,
But you’ve just got crumbs from the rich man’s table,
And maybe you’re thinking, was it truth or fable,
That this land was made for you and me.

Woodland and grassland and river shoreline,
To everything living, even little microbes,
Fin, fur, and feather, we’re all here together,
This land was made for you and me.


No nos moverán

No nos moverán

słowa i muzyka: trad.
ok. 1929-1974

[D]No, [G]no, [A]no nos moverán
No, no, [D]no nos moverán
Como un ár[G]bol firme junto al [D]rio
[A7]No nos move[D]rán!

U[D]nidos en la lucha!
[A]No nos moverán!
Unidos en la lucha!
[D]No nos moverán
como un ár[G]bol firme junto al [D]rio
[A7]No nos move[D]rán

No, no, no nos moverán
No, no, no nos moverán
Como un árbol firme junto al rio
No nos moverán!

Unidos en la huelga!
No nos moverán!
Unidos en la huelga!
No nos moverán
como un árbol firme junto al rio
No nos moverán!

No, no, no nos moverán
No, no, no nos moverán
Como un árbol firme junto al rio
No nos moverán!

Unidos en la vida!
No nos moverán!
Unidos en la vida!
No nos moverán
como un árbol firme junto al rio
No nos moverán!

No, no, no nos moverán
No, no, no nos moverán
Como un árbol firme junto al rio
No nos moverán!


„No nos moverán” znaczy dokładnie: „nie ruszą nas”. Piosenka ta wywodzi z pieśni ludowej I Shall Not Be Moved śpiewanej przez Afroamerykanów. Oznaczała wówczas, że śpiewający piosenkę „są nieporuszeni” w swej wierze w Boga.

W zsekularyzowanej wersji utwór stał się popularny jako protest-song śpiewany przez Ruch Praw Obywatelskich. Utwór w hiszpańskojęzycznej wersji znalazł się na albumie Joan Baez „Gracias a la vida” z 1974 roku. Baez śpiewała go również w Los Angieles, kiedy to protestowała przeciw eksmitowaniu biednych farmerów z tzw. South Central Farm, obszaru rolnictwa miejskiego wokół miasta. Przywiązała się wówczas do drzewa.

Polska i angielska wersja tej samej piosenki

We Shall Overcome

We Shall Overcome

słowa: autor zbiorowy, m.in. Pete Seeger, 1945-1960
muzyka: trad., gospel

[G]We shall [C]over[G]come, [Em]
[G]We shall [C]over[G]come, [Em]
[G]We shall [C]ov[D]er[Em]come, [A7]some [D]da[A7]a[D7]ay.

[G]Deep [C]in my [G]heart, [Em]
[C]I [D7]do be[Em]lieve
[G]We shall [C]over[G]come, [D7]some [G]day.

We shall overcome,
We shall overcome,
We shall overcome, some day.

Oh, deep in my heart,
I do believe
We shall overcome, some day.

We’ll walk hand in hand,
We’ll walk hand in hand,
We’ll walk hand in hand, some day.

Oh, deep in my heart,
I do believe
We’ll walk hand in hand, some day.

We shall live in peace,
We shall live in peace,
We’ll walk hand in hand, some day.

Oh, deep in my heart,
I do believe
We’ll walk hand in hand, some day.

We shall all be free,
We shall all be free,
We shall all be free, some day.

Oh, deep in my heart,
I do believe
We shall all be free, some day.

We are not afraid,
We are not afraid,
We are not afraid, today

Oh, deep in my heart,
I do believe
We are not afraid, today

We shall overcome,
We shall overcome,
We shall overcome, some day.

Oh, deep in my heart,
I do believe
We shall overcome, some day.


Wersje w dwóch innych tonacjach, nieco trudniejsze do zagrania. W tonacji A-dur:

[A]We shall [D]over[A]come, [F#m]
[A]We shall [D]over[A]come, [F#m]
[A]We shall [D]ov[E]er[F#m]come, [H7]some [E]da[H7]a[E7]ay.

[A]Deep [D]in my [A]heart, [F#m]
[D]I [E7]do be[F#m]lieve
[A]We shall [D]over[A]come, [W7]some [A]day.


Wersja w tonacji C-dur:

[C]We shall [F]over[C]come,
[C]We shall [F]over[C]come,
We shall [F]ov[G]er[Am]come, [D]some [G]da[D]a[G]y.

[C]Deep [F]in my [C]heart,
[F]I [G]do be[Am]lieve
[G]We shall [F]over[C]come, [G]some [C]day.