Origins:Put It on the Ground (Glaser/Bill Wolff)

Subject: LYRICS WANTED: 'Put it on the ground'
From: Chris Seymour
Date: 02 Oct 99 - 03:46 PM

A friend and I are looking for the words to a song called, we believe "Put it on the ground." The chorus goes

Put it on the ground Spread it all around Rake it with a hoe It will make your garden grow

It has verses ridiculing business people and bosses.

We are hoping to sing it in a performance in two weeks time -- any help would be much appreciated. Thanks

Subject: RE: LYRICS WANTED: 'Put it on the ground'
From: MAG (inactive)
Date: 02 Oct 99 - 03:55 PM

It's on an album of wobbly music sung by Wob members; by Faith Petric, I think -- don't have it here; will bring soon if no one beats me to it.

MA

Subject: RE: LYRICS WANTED: 'Put it on the ground'
From: Jeri
Date: 02 Oct 99 - 04:07 PM

The difficult way is to go to that blue search box in the upper right hand corner of this screen and type "put it in the ground" inside square brackets.

The easy way is to click here

Subject: ADD: Put It On the Ground (Verses & Tune)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 02 Oct 99 - 05:55 PM

The People's Songbook has a couple more verses than we have in the DT. Note the songwriter and copyright information, and the slight differences in the first two verses.
-Joe Offer-

PUT IT ON THE GROUND
(Words: Ray Glaser Music: Bill Wolff)
©1947, People's Songs, Inc.

Oh! If you want a raise in pay, all you have to do
Go and ask the boss for it and he will give it to you
Yes, he will give it to you, my boys, he will give it to you
A raise in pay, without delay, oh, he will give it to you

Ohhh, put it on the ground, spread it all around
Dig it with a hoe: it will make your flowers grow

For men who own the industries I'm shedding bitter tears
They haven't made a single dime in over thirty years
In over thirty years, my boys, in over thirty years
Not one thin dime in all that time, in over thirty years. Ohhhh…

"The cost of living ain't so high," I told my wife Miranda
"This talk of living being hard is Rooshian propaganda."
It's Rooshian propaganda, boys, just Rooshian propaganda
From Molotov to Simonov, just Rooshian propaganda. Ohhhh…

It's fun to work on holidays, or when the day is done;
Why should they pay us overtime for having so much fun?
For having so much fun my boys, for having so much fun.
Pay overtime would be a crime for having so much fun. Ohhh…

The men who own the industries, they own no bonds and stocks
They own no yachts and limousines, or gems the size of rocks.
They own no big estates with pools, or silken B.V.D.'s,
Because they pay the working man such fancy salaries. Ohhh….
^^
JRO

MIDI file: PUTITO~1.MID

Timebase: 192

Name: Put It On The Ground
Text: By Words: Ray Glaser Music: Bill Wolff
Copyright: Copyright © 1947, People's Songs, Inc
Key: F
TimeSig: 4/4 24 8
Start
0672 1 60 110 0094 0 60 000 0002 1 65 110 0142 0 65 000 0002 1 64 110 0046 0 64 000 0002 1 65 110 0094 0 65 000 0002 1 67 110 0046 0 67 000 0002 1 69 110 0142 0 69 000 0002 1 72 110 0046 0 72 000 0002 1 69 110 0160 0 69 000 0032 1 67 110 0142 0 67 000 0002 1 69 110 0046 0 69 000 0002 1 67 110 0142 0 67 000 0002 1 65 110 0046 0 65 000 0002 1 62 110 0336 0 62 000 0048 1 64 110 0142 0 64 000 0002 1 63 110 0046 0 63 000 0002 1 64 110 0142 0 64 000 0002 1 65 110 0046 0 65 000 0002 1 67 110 0142 0 67 000 0002 1 67 110 0046 0 67 000 0002 1 67 110 0142 0 67 000 0002 1 60 110 0046 0 60 000 0002 1 65 110 0142 0 65 000 0002 1 64 110 0046 0 64 000 0002 1 65 110 0062 0 65 000 0002 1 65 110 0062 0 65 000 0002 1 67 110 0062 0 67 000 0002 1 69 110 0160 0 69 000 0128 1 60 110 0094 0 60 000 0002 1 65 110 0142 0 65 000 0002 1 64 110 0046 0 64 000 0002 1 65 110 0062 0 65 000 0002 1 65 110 0062 0 65 000 0002 1 67 110 0062 0 67 000 0002 1 69 110 0142 0 69 000 0002 1 72 110 0046 0 72 000 0002 1 69 110 0160 0 69 000 0032 1 67 110 0142 0 67 000 0002 1 69 110 0046 0 69 000 0002 1 67 110 0062 0 67 000 0002 1 67 110 0062 0 67 000 0002 1 65 110 0062 0 65 000 0002 1 62 110 0160 0 62 000 0128 1 60 110 0094 0 60 000 0002 1 72 110 0142 0 72 000 0002 1 72 110 0046 0 72 000 0002 1 72 110 0142 0 72 000 0002 1 60 110 0046 0 60 000 0002 1 72 110 0142 0 72 000 0002 1 72 110 0046 0 72 000 0002 1 72 110 0142 0 72 000 0002 1 72 110 0046 0 72 000 0002 1 74 110 0142 0 74 000 0002 1 72 110 0046 0 72 000 0002 1 70 110 0062 0 70 000 0002 1 69 110 0062 0 69 000 0002 1 67 110 0062 0 67 000 0002 1 65 110 0160 0 65 000 0032 1 72 110 0160 0 72 000 0032 1 60 110 0142 0 60 000 0002 1 60 110 0046 0 60 000 0002 1 60 110 0142 0 60 000 0002 1 60 110 0046 0 60 000 0002 1 65 110 0336 0 65 000 0048 1 62 110 0142 0 62 000 0002 1 62 110 0046 0 62 000 0002 1 62 110 0142 0 62 000 0002 1 62 110 0046 0 62 000 0002 1 67 110 0336 0 67 000 0048 1 64 110 0142 0 64 000 0002 1 64 110 0046 0 64 000 0002 1 64 110 0142 0 64 000 0002 1 64 110 0046 0 64 000 0002 1 64 110 0160 0 64 000 0032 1 60 110 0094 0 60 000 0002 1 60 110 0094 0 60 000 0002 1 72 110 0160 0 72 000 0032 1 70 110 0160 0 70 000 0032 1 69 110 0160 0 69 000 0032 1 67 110 0160 0 67 000 0032 1 65 110 0384 0 65 000 0000 1 65 110 0256 0 65 000
End

This program is worth the effort of learning it.

To download the March 10 MIDItext 98 software and get instructions on how to use it click here

ABC format:

X:1
T:Put It On The Ground
M:4/4
Q:1/4=120
K:F
C8|F3/2E/2FG/2A3/2c/2A2G/2|-GA/2G3/2F/2D4E/2|
-E_E/2E3/2F/2G3/2G/2G3/2C/2F/2|-FE/2F3/4F/2G3/4A3CF/2|
-FE/2F3/4F/2G3/4A3/2c/2A2G/2|-GA/2G3/4G/2F3/4D3Cc/2|
-cc/2c3/2C/2c3/2c/2c3/2c/2d/2|-dc/2B3/4A/2G3/4F2c2C/2|
-CC/2C3/2C/2F4D/2|-DD/2D3/2D/2G4E/2|-EE/2E3/2E/2E2CCc/2|
-c3/2B2A2G2F/2|-F7/2F11/4||

Subject: RE: LYRICS WANTED: 'Put it on the ground'
From: bseed(charleskratz)
Date: 03 Oct 99 - 12:42 AM

I wrote verses for this song for the 1975 Berkeley teachers' strike:

The schools are short of money,
The schools are short of bread,
So we don't want a raise in pay,
We'll take a cut instead.

Oh, Mary Jane and Gene and Jim
And Mark and Sweet Louise,*
Would like us all back on the job,
They ask us "Pretty Please."
They swear that they'll fix everything
Once we're back in the fold,
And everybody knows their word
Is just as good as gold.

The chorus is the same. I wrote another verse, but I can't remember it, and it disappeared in my hard drive crash.

*the members of the school board. Our strike band was "The Board Erasers." The six or eight or ten of us in the group rode around town in the back of a yellow Masda pickup truck, singing traditional strike songs and songs we had written--for more than four weeks. It was a disastrous strike: it ended in arbitration--which we won, but the district ignored the settlement and got away with it. But a good time was had by all... --seed

Subject: RE: LYRICS WANTED: 'Put it on the ground'
From: Chris Seymour
Date: 04 Oct 99 - 10:49 PM

Thanks, all, much appreciated. As always impressed by the knowledge, resourcefulness and creativity of 'Catters.

I'll check out the midi program one of these days-- swamped at present.

By the way, Jeri, the first thing I did was search DT -- with various variations on the title and keywords. No clue why it didn't work. Thanks for refraining from chastising me.

Chris

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Put It on the Ground
From: Charley Noble
Date: 27 Mar 25 - 02:22 PM

Sadly, this protest song still resonates today, with some extra verses and a few word changes. This is the version that we're now singing in Maine at the protest rallies:

Original Words by Ray Glaser/Music by Bill Wolff, ©1947
Adapted by Charlie Ipcar, 3-27-25
Key: F (5/C)

Put It On The Ground-2

C------------------G-C----------------G7-------------C--F
Oh! If you want a raise in pay, I'll tell you what to do
G7---------------------------C---------------G-C
Ask Elon Musk for it and he will give it to you;
------------------G-C------------------G7--------------C-F
He will give it to you, my friends, he will give it to you
---G7-------------------------------------------------------C
A raise in pay, without delay, oh, he will give it to you

Chorus:

G7-----C------------------------F
Ohhh, put it on the ground, spread it all around
G7--------------------------------------------------C
Dig it with a hoe: it will make your flowers grow!

For the men who own the industries I'm shedding bitter tears
They haven't made a single dime in over thirty years
In over thirty years, my friends, in over thirty years
Not one thin dime in all that time, in over thirty years

If you want to rule the world, I'll tell you what to do
Just call your allies together and give 'em the royal screw;
Give 'em the royal screw, my friends, give 'em the royal screw;
They will smile all the while, as you give 'em the royal screw.

If you want to save the world I'll tell you want to do,
Stop funding AID and UNESCO too;
And UNESCO too, my friends, and UNESCO too;
You'll save the world for billionaires, billionaires like you!.

The men who own the industries, they own no bonds and stocks
They own no yachts and Teslas, or gems the size of rocks;
They own no cryptocurrency, nor silken B.V.D.'s,
Because they pay the working folks such fancy salaries.

Dare to struggle, dare to win!
Charlie Ipcar

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Put It on the Ground
From: Mark Ross
Date: 27 Mar 25 - 02:45 PM

The version on the Flying Fish recording REBEL VOICES is by Marion Wade.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Put It on the Ground
From: Charley Noble
Date: 27 Mar 25 - 04:40 PM

The costs of tariffs ain't so high I told my wife Miranda,
This talk of prices going up is Liberal propaganda;
Liberal propaganda, friends, Liberal propaganda,
From housing costs to auto costs, it's Liberal propaganda...