Links On The Chain (LP版) - 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

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 who tries to tell you

That they'll take your job away

He's the same man who 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 it's 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