Sis Cunningham and her father added verses and sang the song as "Strange Things Happening"

THERE ARE STRANGE THINGS HAPPENING
(Chick and Sis Cunningham)

There are strange things happening in this land (repeat)
Oh, the rich man boasts and brags / While the poor man goes in rags
There are strange things happening in this land.

There are strange things happening in this land (repeat)
Oh, the farmer cannot eat / 'cause he's raised too much wheat
There are strange things happening in this land.

There are strange things happening in this land (repeat)
Too much cotton in our sacks / So we have none on our backs
There are strange things happening in this land.

There are strange things happening in this land (repeat)
Lots of groceries on the shelves / But we have none for ourselves
There are strange things happening in this land.

There are strange things happening in this land (repeat)
Oh, we'll have even less to eat / When the drums commence to beat
There are strange things happening in this land.

There are strange things happening in this land (repeat)
But when working men refuse / To put on their old war shoes
There'll be good things happening in this land.

There'll be good things happening in this land (repeat)
When the workers take a stand / And unite in a solid band
There'll be good things happening in this land.


In Arkansas, dispossessed sharecroppers bore the brunt of the hard times. John Handcox, an organizer for the union, wrote the song that tells of their plight.
With this version by Chick and Sis Cunningham, published in Hard Hitting Songs for Hard Hit People.

Notes from Sis Cunningham: The above additional lyrics, these 7 verses to the John Handcox classic, were made up by my father and me in '37., shortly after I met Handcox at the Muskogee SFTU Convention. These lyrics have been printed dozens of times, recorded, sung on nation-wide TV, used in labor musicals, & performed at who knows how many rallies and concerts. Only once did we get credit for them that I know of: Wanda Whitman's collection of SONGS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD. Credit for the great sing-along chorus goes to John Handcox. -SC


from the liner notes from Folkways Records No. FH5319, Sundown: Agnes "Sis" Cunningham Sings Her Own Songs & a Few Old Favorites, Broadside No. 9