Uploaded January 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Lots of badass women before us have written songs from ground zero of the fight for union rights. Do you know any of these songs?
This one, “Come All You Coal Miners” is by Sarah Ogan Gunning. Gunning (1910-1983) grew up in the coal fields of eastern Kentucky… and the hardships of her life called her to advocate for the safety and stability that unions can bring. She ends this song with the lines “Let’s sink this dirty capitalist system to the darkest pits of hell!” Can’t say I disagree!
You can learn working women’s songs of protest in my upcoming offering Badass Women in Folk Song. We’ll be exploring songs from Scotland, England and Appalachia about witty women, witches and warriors who get their way and fiercely fight for what and who they love. This is a 6 week experience that you can take virtually (with two different times to choose from) or locally if you’re in western NC, USA!
**I’ve also just added an additional experience: We’ll have a special guest lecture about how women have used literature and plant metaphors to talk about their experiences of abortion and miscarriage, to parallel our studies of abortifacients and coded language in folk song.**
With the dire political times we’re in, Badass Women is intended to be a balm to carry you through the winter.
Virtual cohorts start on January 16th, and the in-person cohort starts on January 13th! Learn more using the lynk on my creator page!
Lots of badass women before us have written songs from ground zero of the fight for union rights. Do you know any of these songs?
This one, “Come All You Coal Miners” is by Sarah Ogan Gunning. Gunning (1910-1983) grew up in the coal fields of eastern Kentucky… and the hardships of her life called her to advocate for the safety and stability that unions can bring. She ends this song with the lines “Let’s sink this dirty capitalist system to the darkest pits of hell!” Can’t say I disagree!
You can learn working women’s songs of protest in my upcoming offering Badass Women in Folk Song. We’ll be exploring songs from Scotland, England and Appalachia about witty women, witches and warriors who get their way and fiercely fight for what and who they love. This is a 6 week experience that you can take virtually (with two different times to choose from) or locally if you’re in western NC, USA!
**I’ve also just added an additional experience: We’ll have a special guest lecture about how women have used literature and plant metaphors to talk about their experiences of abortion and miscarriage, to parallel our studies of abortifacients and coded language in folk song.**
With the dire political times we’re in, Badass Women is intended to be a balm to carry you through the winter.
Virtual cohorts start on January 16th, and the in-person cohort starts on January 13th! Learn more using the lynk on my creator page!
