September 6, 2010

Music Monday: 10 Songs for Labor Day

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.

In honor of road-tripping MoJo intern Tim Murphy’s stop in Woody Guthrie’s hometown of Okemah, Oklahoma, we’ve loaded up a player with five of Woody’s most labor-oriented songs and matched them with another five commie pinko classics, including Gene Autry’s version of “The Death of Mother Jones.” As you enjoy the end of summer this fine Monday check out Josh Harkinson’s dispatch from coal country, West Virginia, where the memory of Mary Harris “Mother” Jones lives on despite Massey Coal CEO Don Blankenship’s rampant villainy. Click the video thumbnails to listen to each song and don’t forget to ask yourself the necessary question: What Would Woody Do?

 

  • Woody Guthrie – Pastures of Plenty
  • Woody Guthrie, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee – John Henry
  • Woody Guthrie – Union Burying Ground
  • Woody Guthrie – Blowing Down that Road Feelin’ Bad
  • Woody Guthrie – Jesus Christ
  • Mississippi John Hurt- Spike Driver Blues
  • Quilapayun – El Pueblo Unido Jamás Será Vencido
  • Gene Autry – The Death of Mother Jones
  • Pete Seeger – Which Side Are You On?
  • Merle Haggard – Working Man’s Blues

Take the next step: Help us fight for the truth.

Investigative journalism, like the story you just read, takes time to do. Months of research. Weeks of writing, editing, and fact checking—and putting together the photography, art, video, and audio that tell the stories in a new way, illuminating new perspectives and voices.

We can afford to take that time because we don’t report to an oligarch or corporation with a special agenda. We report to you, and for you. That’s why we unabashedly pursue the truth and relentlessly shine a light into the darkness.

In this month’s Summer Membership Drive, we’ve got to raise $200,000 to support more crucial investigations. This is a pivotal moment in our nation, with democracy on the line, and we can only do this work because readers like you step up. Every donation, of any amount, makes a difference here. We cannot do this work without you.

So, we’re asking: Will you support independent journalism that demands those in power answer for their actions?

Take the next step: Help us fight for the truth.

Investigative journalism, like the story you just read, takes time to do. Months of research. Weeks of writing, editing, and fact checking—and putting together the photography, art, video, and audio that tell the stories in a new way, illuminating new perspectives and voices

We can afford to take that time because we don’t report to an oligarch or corporation with a special agenda. We report to you, and for you. That’s why we unabashedly pursue the truth and relentlessly shine a light into the darkness.

In this month’s Summer Membership Drive, we’ve got to raise $200,000 to support more crucial investigations. This is a pivotal moment in our nation, with democracy on the line, and we can only do this work because readers like you step up. Every donation, of any amount, makes a difference here. We cannot do this work without you.

So, we’re asking: Will you support independent journalism that demands those in power answer for their actions?

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

INDEPENDENT. BECAUSE OF YOU.

Mother Jones has no billionaires calling the shots—just readers like you making fearless reporting possible

Donate