I was going to talk a little about one of Woody Guthrie’s songs about an incident that occurred in the formative years of the labor movement, the Ludlow Massacre of 1914.
It’s a haunting song about a haunting event which happend in Colorado where striking miners who had formed a tent village were set upon by the National Guard on the orders of the Colorado governor. They snuck in and soaked the outer tents with kerosene and set them ablaze then opened fire on the miners and their families as they fled. 20 were killed, including 11 children. Just another of many incidents in our history that is practically unknown to the average man in the street, the person who doesn’t realize that the importance of protecting the working class against the avarice of those who would exploit them is rooted in such tragedies. People who don’t realize the historical importance of the labor movement in this country and how it relates to the present standard of living.
There’s a lot more to be said, of course. But it’s Sunday and the world deserves a rest. You can find Guthrie’s Ludlow Massacre on YouTube, along with many of his classic documentations of working America. I thought I would play a little less dark song by the great American troubador/poet/pot-stirrer instead. Here’s So Long It’s Been Good to Know You.
Redtree Times 