Friday, January 4, 2008

`Eugene Debs'


(chorus)
Eugene Debs the socialist
Did you ever hear his name?
“Eugene Debs for President”
Was the Working-class Refrain


(verses)
From Terre Haute, Indiana he walked into the world
He worked upon the railroad in the days when coal was hurled
The wages were too low, the hours were too long
And the American Railway Union, Eugene Debs he formed.
(chorus)


He fought the baron Pullman and the trains then ceased to roll
They broke the strike with troops and put Gene Debs in a cell
He read a book in prison, it opened up his mind
And now he understood why the workers always cried.
(chorus)


He had a gift for speaking and making things so clear
His big Socialist Party made victory seem near
He campaigned around the country and got a lot of votes
The Village really liked him and he gave the workers hope.
(chorus)


His life was very saintly, he wasn’t an office-seeker
He was a man of principle who loved all the workers
He wrote in “Appeal To Reason” and sided with the unskilled
He opposed World War I and so they put him in jail.
(chorus)


Remember Eugene Debs, if you walk into their booth
Remember Eugene Debs, if you fear a big defeat
He saw it made no sense to vote for what you don’t want
When pounding in your heart is the beat of a socialist.
(chorus)


The Eugene Debs biographical protest folk song was written in Brooklyn during the late 1970s.

To listen to the Eugene Debs biographical protest folk song, you can click on the following music site link:

http://www.last.fm/music/Bob+A.+Feldman/More+Biographical+Folk+Songs/Eugene+Debs

Next: Fems vs. Dems Historically