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''Fellow Workers'' is an album by American
folksinger Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has be ...
Utah Phillips Bruce Duncan "Utah" Phillips (May 15, 1935 – May 23, 2008)
, KVMR, Nevada City, California, May 24, 2008. Retrieved 24 May 2008 ...
and American singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco. It was released May 18, 1999, on Difranco's own
Righteous Babe Records Righteous Babe Records is an American independent record label that was created by folk singer Ani DiFranco in 1990 to release her own songs in lieu of being beholden to a mainstream record company. History Righteous Babe Records was originally ...
. ''Fellow Workers'' is DiFranco's and Phillip's second collaboration, following '' The Past Didn't Go Anywhere''. "Fellow workers!" is the phrase with which members of the
Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines gener ...
traditionally begin their public addresses.


Track listing

#"Joe Hill" (instrumental) – 2:36 #"Stupid's Song" – 2:43 #"The Most Dangerous Woman" – 3:43 #"Stupid's Pledge" – 0:14 #"Direct Action" – 4:52 #"Pie in the Sky" – 3:29 #"Shoot or Stab Them" – 2:43 #"Lawrence" – 3:29 #"
Bread and Roses "Bread and Roses" is a political slogan as well as the name of an associated poem and song. It originated from a speech given by American women's suffrage activist Helen M. Todd, Helen Todd; a line in that speech about "bread for all, and roses ...
" – 1:45 #"Why Come?" – 6:05 #"Unless You Are Free" – 0:22 #"I Will Not Obey" – 2:00 #"The Long Memory" – 5:33 #"The Silence That Is Me" – 0:41 #"Joe Hill" – 1:37 #"The Saw-Playing Musician" – 4:43 #"Dump the Bosses" – 1:14 #"
The Internationale "The Internationale" (french: "L'Internationale", italic=no, ) is an international anthem used by various communist and socialist groups; currently, it serves as the official anthem of the Communist Party of China. It has been a standard of ...
" – 2:48


Historical references

This album refers heavily to historical figures and events, often in the context of labor struggles: * "Joe Hill" refers to Joe Hill * "The Most Dangerous Woman" refers to
Mary Harris "Mother" Jones Mary G. Harris Jones (1837 (baptized) – November 30, 1930), known as Mother Jones from 1897 onwards, was an Irish-born American schoolteacher and dressmaker who became a prominent union organizer, community organizer, and activist. She h ...
and the West Virginia coal wars * "Direct Action" refers to the Spokane free speech fight * "Shoot or Stab Them" refers to
Lucy Parsons Lucy Eldine Gonzalez Parsons (born Lucia Carter; 1851 – March 7, 1942) was an American labor organizer, radical socialist and anarcho-communist. She is remembered as a powerful orator. Parsons entered the radical movement following her marria ...
and the
Haymarket affair The Haymarket affair, also known as the Haymarket massacre, the Haymarket riot, the Haymarket Square riot, or the Haymarket Incident, was the aftermath of a bombing that took place at a labor demonstration on May 4, 1886, at Haymarket Square (C ...
* "Lawrence" and "Bread and Roses" refer to the
1912 Lawrence textile strike The Lawrence Textile Strike, also known as the Bread and Roses Strike, was a strike of immigrant workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts, in 1912 led by the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Prompted by a two-hour pay cut corresponding to a ne ...
* "Lawrence" also refers to "Smiling Joe" Ettor * "Why Come" refers to the
Everett massacre The Everett Massacre (also known as Bloody Sunday) was an armed confrontation between local authorities and members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) union, commonly called "Wobblies". It took place in Everett, Washington on Sunday, ...


References

1999 albums Ani DiFranco albums Utah Phillips albums Industrial Workers of the World culture Righteous Babe Records albums {{1990s-indie-rock-album-stub