Links on the Chain

Lyrics

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
And 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 till he's thrown out 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

Notes

Copyright © 1964 APPLESEED MUSIC, INC.

In "Links On the Chain," Phil Ochs chastises the labor unions for their conservatism in the 1950s and 1960s. He wonders where the "defenders of the common man" were during struggles for civil rights. The slogan "links on the chain" is a term frequently used in labor struggles. "To sum it up, this is one thing I feel is a driving force; that is I get so repelled by certain things—or they strike me as funny or weird, or strange, or ridiculous—and my response comes out in the form of a song" (Phil Ochs, interview with Gordon Friesen and Sis Cunningham, Broadside issue 89, 90, 91, 1965).
-Jeff Place, The Best of Broadside 1962-1988