Labour Songs in the Later 20th Century

The most popular “magnetic” labour songs have come from the IWW in the early twentieth century, or from the rise of industrialism and the Black union movements of the 1930s. The 1960s saw a rise of “rhetorical” labour and protest folk music with the music of Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Bob Dylan among others. In recent decades, the oral traditions of the labour movement have quieted significantly, and many unionized workers are largely unfamiliar with the songs that used to be internationally known. Singing is a radical act, and oral tradition makes up a very important part of the radical culture of the labour movement.

Billy Bragg at Sheffield Occupy

“There Is Power In A Union” was written by the English folk-punk singer Billy Bragg in 1986. With limited instrumental backing, the unpolished song blurs the lines between “magnetic” and “rhetorical.” “There Is Power In A Union” uses the title of a different song written by Joe Hill of the IWW. The English song riffs off of the American Civil War song, “The Battle-Cry of Freedom,” first written in 1862. The practice of borrowing the melody of a Civil War song is common in labour song tradition, making Bragg’s song an important recent addition to the tradition.