LINKS ON THE CHAIN
(Phil Ochs)

Come you ranks of labor, come you union core
And see if you remember the struggles of before
When you were standing helpless on the outside of the door
and you started building links on the chain, on the chain
And you started building links on the chain.

When the police on the horses were waitin' on demand
Ridin' through the strike with the pistols in their hands
Swingin' at the skulls of many a union man
As you built one more link on the chain, on the chain
As you built one more link on the chain.

Then the army of the fascists tried to put you on the run
But the army of the union, they did what could be done
Oh the power of the factory was greater than the gun
As you built one more link on the chain, on the chain
As you built one more link on the chain

And then in 1954, decisions finally made
The Black man was a-risin'fast, and racin' from the shade
And your union took no stand, and your union was betrayed
As you lost yourself a link on the chain, on the chain
As you lost yourself a link on the chain.

And then there came the boycotts and then the Freedom Rides
And forgetting what you stood for, you tried to block the tide
Oh the automation bosses were laughin' on the side
As they watched you lose your link on the chain, on the chain
As they watched you lose your link on the chain.

You know, when they block your trucks, boys, by layin' on the road
All that they are doin' is all that you have showed
That you gotta strike, you gotta fight to get what you are owed
When you're building all your links on the chain, on the chain
When you're building all your links on the chain.

And the man that tries to tell you that they'll take your job away
He's the same man that was scabbin' hard just the other day
And your union's not a union til he's thrown out of the way
And he's chokin'on your links of the chain, of the chain
And he's chokin' on your links of the chain.

For now the times are tellin' you the times are rollin' on
And you're fighting for the same thing, the jobs that will be gone
Now its only fair to ask you, boys, which side are you on?
As you're buildin' all your links on the chain, on the chain
As you're buildin' all your links on the chain.

Copyright 1964 Appleseed Music, Inc.
Rec. on "I Aint Marching Anymore" Elektra EKS-7287
@labor @union @political
filename[ LNKCHAIN
GF
Apr98
mudcat.org

---

PLEASE NOTE: Because of the volunteer nature of The Digital Tradition, it is difficult to ensure proper attribution and copyright information for every song included. Please assume that any song which lists a composer is copyrighted ©. You MUST aquire proper license before using these songs for ANY commercial purpose. If you have any additional information or corrections to the credit or copyright information included, please e-mail those additions or corrections to us (along with the song title as indexed) so that we can update the database as soon as possible. Thank You.