Kalpana Kalpana (Editor)

There Is Power in a Union

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Published
  
1913

Language
  
English

Writer(s)
  
Composer: Lewis E. Jones Lyricist: Joe Hill

"There Is Power in a Union" is a song written by Joe Hill in 1913. The Industrial Workers of the World (commonly known as the Wobblies) concentrated much of its labor trying to organize migrant workers in lumber and construction camps. They sometimes had competition for the attention of the workers from religious organizations. The song uses the tune of Lewis E. Jones' 1899 hymn "There Is Power in the Blood (Of the Lamb)".

"There Is Power in a Union" was first published in the Little Red Songbook in 1913.

The song has been recorded several times. Billy Bragg recorded a song with the title "There Is Power in a Union" on the Talking with the Taxman About Poetry album; this has different words and is set to the tune of "Battle Cry of Freedom".

The Billy Bragg version of this title is featured in the 2004 film Howard Zinn: You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train in which American Communist organizations march in Time Square.

The Billy Bragg song of this title, but unrelated to Joe Hill's song, is featured in the 2014 film Pride in which London organization Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners collects funds to support the striking miners of a Welsh pit village during the UK miners' strike (1984–85).

For many years, Dropkick Murphys have used Bragg's song as one of the songs played before they perform.

Punk band Street Dogs recorded Billy Bragg's version (with altered lyrics) on their album Fading American Dream.

References

There Is Power in a Union Wikipedia