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Post by woodfaery on Oct 25, 2010 18:41:44 GMT 10
Hi, I was wondering if you could help me out a wee bit. A friend of mine is organising an evening of lectures/presentations about working class struggle and has asked me to talk about the Red Clydeside movement. Sadly, I don't have the lyrics to the songs on the Red Clydeside album. I'm especially looking for the lyrics to "The Red Clydesiders", "Mrs Barbour's Army" and "The Granite Cage". Any help would be greatly appreciated! And if I do end up using a quote from a song then I'll make sure I credit it appropriately, of course. Thanks, Tina
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Post by johnhamill on Oct 29, 2010 21:40:55 GMT 10
RS. BARBOUR'S ARMY (Alistair Hulett)
Chorus: 'Cos I'm frae Govan an' ye're frae Partick This yin here's fae Bridge o' Weir and thon's fae Kinning Park There's some that's prods, there's some that's catholic But we're Mrs. Barbour's Army and we're here tae dae the wark
In the tenements o' Glesga in the year one nine one five It was one lang bloody struggle tae keep ourselves alive We were coontin' oot the coppers tae buy wor scraps o' food When the landlords put the rent up just because they could A' the factories were hummin', there was overtime galore But wages they were driven doon tae subsidise the war Oot came Mrs. Barbour from her wee bit single end She said, I'll organise the lassies if I cannae rouse the men
Mrs. Barbour made a poster sayin', We'll no' pay higher rent Then chapped on every door of every Govan tenement She said, Pit this in the windae an' when you hear me bang the drum We'll run oot an' chase the factor a' the way tae kingdom come When the poor wee soul cam roon' he was battered black and blue By a regiment in pinnies that knew just what tae do Mrs. Barbour organised the gaitherin' o' the clans And they burst oot o' the steamie armed wi' pots an' fryin' pans
Mrs. Barbour's Army spread through Glesga like the plague The maisters got the message and the message wisnae vague While oor menfolk fight the Kaiser we'll stay hame and fight the war Against the greedy bastards who keep grindin' doon the poor If ye want tae stop conscription stand and fight the profiteers Bring the hale big bloody sandpit crashin' doon aroon' their ears We'll no' starve, said Mrs. Barbour, While the men we ca' wor ain Are marchin aff tae hae their hairt's blood washed like watter doon a drain
Well it didnae take the government that lang tae realise If you crack doon on the leaders then the rest will compromise They arrested Mrs. Barbour and they clapped her in the jile Then they made an awfy big mistake, they let her oot on bail She ca'd the men oot o' the factories on the Clyde and on the Cart They marched up tae the courthoose sayin', We'll tear the place apart Mrs. Barbour's Army brought the maisters tae their knees Wi' a regiment in pinnies backed by one in dungarees
[2002:] The Great Unrest came to a shuddering halt in 1914 with the outbreak of war, as workers were swept up in a wave of patriotic jingoism. Glasgow was to prove a notable exception. Of course workers in other places opposed the war, but the scale of the opposition and its militancy earned Glasgow the epithet Red Clydeside. The high level within the workforce of Irish migrants and Highland refugees, none of whom had much cause to cherish British Imperialism, partly explains this. But by far the most significant factor was the presence of a large number of socialists who could agitate among the workers sufferíng all the attacks on wages and conditions that accompanied wartime production. One of the principle [sic!] grievances was the huge rent increases that were taking place as workers were drafted into Glasgow to work in the munitions factories. The housing shortage that resulted gave the landlords the opportunity to 'profiteer' by rent-racking and evicting all who couldn't pay.
In 1915, the Govan Rent Strike broke out and soon spread to other parts of the city. At its peak, 250,000 families were on strike. Although educated socialists and suffragettes played a significant role, the real heroes were the working class women of Glasgow, led by a Govan housewife called Mary Barbour. In his stirring eyewitness account 'Revolt on the Clyde' Willie Gallacher writes:
"In Govan, Mrs. Barbour, a typical working-class housewife, became the leader of a movement such as had never been seen before, or since for that matter. Street meetings, back-court meetings, drums, bells, trumpets - every method was used to bring the women out and organize them for the struggle. Notices were printed by the thousand and put up in the windows: wherever you went you could see them. In street after street, hardly a window without one: "We Are Not Paying Increased Rent". These notices represented a spirit amongst the women that could not be overcome. The factors (agents for the property owners) could not collect the rents. They applied to the courts for eviction warrants. Having obtained these, sheriff's officers were sent to serve them and evict the tenants. But Mrs. Barbour had a team of women who were wonderful. They could smell a sheriff's officer a mile away. At their summons women left their cooking, washing or whatever they were doing. Before they got anywhere near their destination, the officer and his men would be met by an army of furious women who drove them back in a hurried scramble for safety."
Gallacher goes on to recount how the landlords began suing through the small debts court for the right to impound wages to cover unpaid rent. This outrage mobilised the menfolk into action alongside their wives. On the day of the trial of several rent strikers, the factories emptied all across Glasgow to join a demonstration organised by the women.
"From early morning the women were marching to the centre of the city where the Sheriff's Court is situated. Mrs. Barbour's army was on the march. But even as they marched, mighty reinforcements were coming from the workshops and the yards. From far away Dalmuir in the West, from Parkhead in the East, from Cathcart in the South and Hydepark in the North, the dungareed army of the proletariat invaded the centre of the city. Into the streets around the Sheriff's Court the workers marched from all sides. All the streets were packed. Traffic was completely stopped. Right in front of the court, John Maclean was on a platform addressing the crowd as far as his voice could reach. In other streets near the court others of us were at it. Roar after roar of rage went up as incidents were related of the robbery of mothers and wives whose sons and husbands were at the front. Roar followed roar as we pictured what would happen if we allowed the attack on our wages. It was obvious to the sheriff that the situation was too desperate to play with. He telephoned London and was put through to the Minister Of Munitions, Mr. Lloyd George. "The workers have left the factories," he said after explaining the nature of the case. "They are threatening to pull down Glasgow. What am I to do?" "Stop the case," he was told, "a Rent Restriction Act will be introduced immediately."
The Glasgow Herald offered this tribute to the men and women of the Clyde: "Thanks to the fine stand made by Glasgow women and the determined attitude of the Clyde munitions workers, the Government has introduced a Bill to legalize pre-war rent during the war and for six months thereafter."
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Post by woodfaery on Nov 2, 2010 2:24:56 GMT 10
Thanks very much John, that's very helpful! Both the lyrics and the extra information.
Hugs, Tina
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Post by johnhamill on Nov 18, 2010 22:07:17 GMT 10
The Granite Cage
The iron door bags shut They’ve got ye noo John where they want ye Ye’ll claw the walls before there through wi’ you, and a’ yer demons come tae haunt ye Ye’ll curse the day, ye’ll fear the night, ye’ll live on water and stale breid Till yer fliesh twines an’ yer hostin up yer bleid In the granite cage at Peterheid. Haud on John wi’ a’ ye’ve got, there’s freens outside who’ll no forsake ye Wee pale blue forget-me-not, I fear this time there oot tae break ye.
Huddled in yer bed at night, too cauld tae sleep an’ feart tae dream Ye paid in full the price that martyrs have tae pay, who dare tae swim against the stream Regrets and doubts, ye must have had yer share For every floo’er that grows there’s aye a weed Ye sacrificed yer life for socialism’s creed, in the granite cage at Peterheid.
Hear the measured steps outside, psychopaths decked oot in navy twill Haud yer breath until yer sure they’ve passed yer cell Sadistic bampots oot tae maim and kill Someone screams thank Christ it wis’nae you Wan mair poor bastard driven aff his hied The drugs are kickin in, yer mind is a’ abreid, in the granite cage at Pererheid.
Wee pale blue forget-me-not, favour floo’er o’ wor dear McLean Ye daur tae blossom whaur cement and cobbled stane Jine forces tae mak’ sure we stand alane In every crack another floo’er grows The day is yet tae come but gie it speed When a’ the wee floo’ers rise up and spread their seed Ower the granite cage at Peterheid.
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Post by johnhamill on Nov 18, 2010 22:09:28 GMT 10
The Red Clydesiders.
Jimmy Maxton, James McDougall, Barbour, Gallacher and McShane Agnes Dollan, Helen Crawford, up at the heid great John Maclean These are some o' the Red Clyde siders, hundreds more I'd wish tae nane A monument I'd raise forever, these are the flower of Scotland's fame
MacDougall fell apart in prison, came back oot a broken shell They did the same tae young John Muir, eight lang months in the jaws of hell His only crime was saying no tae slaughter in a rich man's war Property is theft he said, don't die for what ye cannae live for
Rags and Tags for common folk, silk for money lenders The old church pew, the white and blue The kilt and the Young Pretender keep us sweirt But what mak's them feart is wor pride in the Red Clydesiders
Every Sunday night at Bath Street John Maclean roared oot his speil Thousands gaithered roon' tae hear him, he spak' loud and he spak' weil Fifteen years I've been a sodger, fightin' for the cause he said I'll no' stop now though ye might jail me, prison walls I dinnae dread
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