Union Man - Blue Highway

A short life of trouble in a dark and dusty mine

Has been my occupation, now I walk the picket line

I was down in bloody Harlan when they tried to organize

The miners faced starvation, you could see it in their eyes

The company hired the gun thugs, many miners died it’s said

They’d come to kill the Union but they lost their lives instead

Which side are you on boys, which side are you on?

You’re either for the rich man or the Union standing strong

I came to New York City in the year of ‘43

We were fighting Hitler’s armies in the war across the sea

But they would not hire a miner to do a workman’s job

At fifteen cents an hour, your pockets they will rob

And it’s which side are you on boys, which side are you on?

You’re either for the rich man or the Union standing strong

I’ll never trust a rich man as long as I draw breath

To keep his marble mansion he’ll starve your child to death

And when my life is over, don’t mourn my passing long

Organize resistance and keep the Union strong

So here’s to every miner who dared to take a stand

Who lived to feed his family and died a Union man