Skip to content
From the Song Library

Union Maid

Year 2014
Songwriter Woodie Guthrie
Tune Redwing
There once was a union maid Who never was afraid Of the goons and the ginks and the company finks And the deputy sheriffs who made the raid. She went to the union hall When a meeting it was called, And when the company boys came round She always stood her ground. Chorus: Oh, you can’t scare me, I’m stickin’ to the union, I’m stickin’ to the union, I’m stickin’ to the union. Oh, you can’t scare me, I’m stickin’ to the union, I’m stickin’ to the union ‘til the day I die. This union maid was wise To the tricks of the company spies. She couldn’t be fooled by the company stools— She’d always organize the guys. She’d always get her way When she struck for higher pay. She’d show her card to the company guard, And this is what she’d say: Chorus You women who want to be free Take a little tip from me: Break outa that mold we’ve all been sold— You got a fighting history! The fight for women’s rights With workers must unite. Like Mother Jones, move those bones To the front of every fight! Chorus We modern union maids Are also not afraid To walk the line, leave our jobs behind, And we’re not just the Ladies Aid! We fight for equal pay, And we will have our say. We’re workers too, the same as you, And fight the union way. Chorus