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.