`William Z. Foster'

(verses)
"My father was a Fenian who fled from British tyranny
And overseas he brought me up to fight for Ireland to be free
I saw the bosses' cruelty when I entered the working-class
And vowed I'd fight for a new world until I breathed my last.

"I hoboed all around the land and worked on ships at sea
I saw the sailors' suffering and felt police brutality
With migrant workers I did roam, in search of a day's pay
And organized union locals wherever I did stay.

(chorus)
"William Foster is my name
And I fight with heart and mind
And today we march to City Hall
For the rights of the Unemployed.

(verses)
"From Seattle to Chicago, the unorganized I did approach
And those ignored by the A.F.L. were the workers to whom I gave some hope
In the stockyards and the steel cities, I planned the big campaigns
And the Great Steel Strike after the World War, for steelworkers showed the way.

"To fight the Corporate Slave System, the CP I did join
And as their candidate for President, warned `millions will be unemployed'
And now we're here in Union Square, to say to the corporate rich
`There are no jobs, so we demand unemployment insurance~' (chorus)

"One hundred thousand strong today, yet still there is no permit to march
`Six months in jail,' they threaten me, and say I'm `inciting to riot'
And the New York cops, I see them charge, and club without mercy
But the Working Class will rise again until we win our victory." (chorus)

The William Z. Foster biographical protest folk song was written a few years ago and can be sung to the tune of the traditional Irish rebel folk song, "The Boys of Wexford."

To listen to some other protest folk songs, you can check out the following music site links:

http://www.myspace.com/bobafeldman68music


http://www.mp3.com/artist/bobafeldman/songs/