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 GF Apr98
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