Uploaded June 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
This song was written as a poem by labor organizer Davie Robb in 1914 while he was imprisoned in a Colorado jail. This is 3 of a total of 5 verses that he wrote, and I have added my own tune here. Robb wrote a variety of songs and poems in his life, and sang as part of his organizing work. After he was released from prison in Colorado, he never sang again. We can sing for him. Lyrics below.
So many labor songs and poems from the turn of the 19th century have plenty of relevance to our circumstances today. Reviving these songs- or turning these poems into songs- connects us to the ingenuity and strength of the people of our spiritual, political & cultural ancestry.
A few recommended sources to check out:
-Minstrels of the Mine Patch: Songs and Stories of the Anthracite Industry, by George Korson. You can find this one on archive.org
-The Little Red Songbook, by the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World)
-We Rise: A Movement Songbook by the Poor People’s Campaign
Lyrics:
Within the grasp of unjust courts, Behind the bars of jail, Are working men on false reports,
as cowards never fail, To fill the jurors ears with lies, The safeguard of the slave,
Whose lies will fall as truth will rise, To vindicate the brave.
Our noblest men have oft been called
To fill the felon’s cells;
In tyrant’s jails (securely walled)
Our greatest martyrs fell
But progress marches steadily
Truth will open up the door
And justice end the misery
That binds and grinds the poor.
Oh nature’s gifts are not our own,
The master rules the mob.
Even governments, ‘tis clearly shown,
Permit him now to rob.
But watch the revolution grow
Among the lab’ring poor,
For courts and jails and rogues must go-
And greed will reign no more.
This song was written as a poem by labor organizer Davie Robb in 1914 while he was imprisoned in a Colorado jail. This is 3 of a total of 5 verses that he wrote, and I have added my own tune here. Robb wrote a variety of songs and poems in his life, and sang as part of his organizing work. After he was released from prison in Colorado, he never sang again. We can sing for him. Lyrics below.
So many labor songs and poems from the turn of the 19th century have plenty of relevance to our circumstances today. Reviving these songs- or turning these poems into songs- connects us to the ingenuity and strength of the people of our spiritual, political & cultural ancestry.
A few recommended sources to check out:
-Minstrels of the Mine Patch: Songs and Stories of the Anthracite Industry, by George Korson. You can find this one on archive.org
-The Little Red Songbook, by the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World)
-We Rise: A Movement Songbook by the Poor People’s Campaign
Lyrics:
Within the grasp of unjust courts, Behind the bars of jail, Are working men on false reports,
as cowards never fail, To fill the jurors ears with lies, The safeguard of the slave,
Whose lies will fall as truth will rise, To vindicate the brave.
Our noblest men have oft been called
To fill the felon’s cells;
In tyrant’s jails (securely walled)
Our greatest martyrs fell
But progress marches steadily
Truth will open up the door
And justice end the misery
That binds and grinds the poor.
Oh nature’s gifts are not our own,
The master rules the mob.
Even governments, ‘tis clearly shown,
Permit him now to rob.
But watch the revolution grow
Among the lab’ring poor,
For courts and jails and rogues must go-
And greed will reign no more.
