These are some songs which came out of an evening singing in Dyffryn. They’re raw, and amateur, and fun. You hear these songs sung in socialist choirs, but they rarely filter through into streaming services. So, I’m putting them up here.

I’ve done some light editing, the files are encoded in ogg vorbis format with mp3 as a fallback. I’ve also compressed the audio down to the point where each song generally fits between 1-2 megabytes.

Socialist ABC

Everyone should learn this alphabet :)

workers_song_book

Union Maid

Oh no you can’t scare me, I’m sticking to the union,
sticking to the union, till the day I die!

Jo pointed out that the ending was changed a few times, from this:

Married life ain’t hard, when you’ve got a union card.
A union man has a happy life, when he’s got a union wife!

…to something more modern.

South Medomsley Strike

This is a song about an old miners’ strike, written by Tommy Armstrong.

socialist_songbook

The Red Flag

red_flag

Blackleg Miner

Another mining song, I’ve been a fan of this one ever since I heard the Steeleye Span cover. I know the words (almost) off by heart.

David’s song

One of Gawain’s diddly tunes, written for someone called David.

gawain_violin_1

Corridors of Power

Clear the city towers,
with their heads in the clouds.
Bring them down to earth,
where hearts are proud.

These streets are the corridors of power,
yes working hands built them,
working feet will walk them.

As Soon as this Pub Closes

the British Left explained

Little Britain

No tourist information,
there’s a British Heart Foundation,
in old town, broken county, little Britain.
The future, it’s a mystery,
to who it does belong there’s no predicting,
but you can bet your sweet cheeks,
it’ll be decided on the streets,
of old town, broken county, little Britain.

4am in Cuba

Another of Gawain’s tunes, which was written at 4am in Cuba.

gawain_violin_2

The World Turned Upside Down

gawain_rob_music_1

Red Fly the Banners

rob_guitar

Miner’s Lifeguard

Worn out shoes and worn out miners,
blackened lungs, and faces pale.
Keep your hands upon your wages,
and your eyes upon the scale.
Union miners, stand together,
do not heed the Coal Board’s tale.

Solidarity Forever

nationalisation

Internationale

Lastly, a round of the internationale!

internationale