Library: ENGL 2667: The American Working Class Identity: Find Music

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The Union Songs website collects lyrics and sound bytes to numerous songs from the labor movement.

Learn about the role music played in the life of a slave.

Music in Slave Life
Learn about and listen to slave work songs.
Slave Work Songs
Colonial Williamsburg program with lyrics and audio to the slave work song "Hoe Emma hoe."
Sweet Chariot: The Story of the Spirituals
Part of U. of Denver's The Spirituals Project, site contains historical overview, lyrics, and sound clips.

Story Behind the Protest Song: A reference Guide to the 50 Songs that Changed the 20th Century
Call Number: 782.42 P577s
This indispensable guide tackles it all: the behind-the-scenes stories of the most influential protest songs in American popular culture, examining the subjects they address, the legacy they left, and the fabric of the songs themselves.
33 Revolutions per Minute: A History of Protest Songs from Billie Holiday to Green Day
Call Number: 782.42 L989t
Presents an in-depth history of the protest song, detailing its relationship with popular music and politics, which has been one of the most important tools for igniting social revolution over the past century.
Ramblin Man: The Life and Times of Woody Guthrie
Call Number: 782.42162 G984c
The life and career of the most recognized and beloved folk musician of the twentieth century are recalled here, with details of his hobo days as well as his marriage, his "subversive" activities, and his eventual death by Huntingdon's Disease.

Listen to Pete Seeger's cover of Florence Reece's famous union song "Which Side Are You On."

Links to websites on Joe Hill: worker, union organizer, and songwriter.

IWW History Project
Gathers together biographical materials about Joe Hill and the chargers against him.
Songs of the Wobblies
Listen to songs by written by Joe Hill and the Industrial Workers of the World (known as Wobblies).

Labor Sings
Audio for popular songs of the labor movements with lyrics. Part of the Labor Arts website.
Woody Guthrie
Site archives lyrics to many of Guthrie's songs and has extensive background information.
Pete Seeger: The Power of Song
Part of the American Masters series, This has been copied onto YouTube.
Smithsonian Folkways
Visitors may search for or listen to audio clips of folk music or read articles from Folkways Magazine.