World War Two was the archetypal good war. And ask any liberal, FDR was the archetypal good president. But don't ask Millard Lampell, Lee Hays, Pete Seeger, and Woody Guthrie -- The Almanac Singers.[1] They released Songs for John Doe[2] in 1941 and it's full of anti-draft, anti-war, anti-FDR songs, inspired by the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, the first peacetime conscription law ever enacted in the US.[3]

And are you afraid to fight, Billy boy, Billy boy?
Are you afraid to fight, charming Billy?
You can comе around to me when England's a democracy...

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Almanac_Singers

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songs_for_John_Doe

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_Training_and_Service_Act_of_1940

#ProtestSongs #AlmanacSingers #BillyBoy #WorldWar2 #WW2 #Conscription #SelectiveService #WoodyGuthrie #PeteSeeger #FolkMusic

World War Two was the archetypal good war. And ask any liberal, FDR was the archetypal good president. But don't ask Millard Lampell, Lee Hays, Pete Seeger, and Woody Guthrie -- The Almanac Singers.[1] They released Songs for John Doe[2] in 1941 and it's full of anti-draft, anti-war, anti-FDR songs, inspired by the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, the first peacetime conscription law ever enacted in the US.[3]

And are you afraid to fight, Billy boy, Billy boy?
Are you afraid to fight, charming Billy?
You can comе around to me when England's a democracy...

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Almanac_Singers

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songs_for_John_Doe

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_Training_and_Service_Act_of_1940

#ProtestSongs #AlmanacSingers #BillyBoy #WorldWar2 #WW2 #Conscription #SelectiveService #WoodyGuthrie #PeteSeeger #FolkMusic

The Almanac Singers - Wikipedia

@cpm @pluralistic "Which Side Are You On" is already on my phone playlist, along with "Solidarity Forever."

#peteseeger
#almanacsingers

#nowplaying - always topical, but thinking of the encroaching new york nurses' strike ( https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/17000-nyc-nurses-poised-to-strike-as-tridemic-rages/3999690/ ). released around the time of #peteseeger & #leehays's HUAC testimony in 1955, side B features the original 1941 #almanacsingers, side A with newly recorded songs for #unions. used to think "which side are you on" was corny af but turns out it gets heavier each year.
17,000 NYC Nurses Poised to Strike as Tridemic Rages

Some 17,000 NYC hospital nurses could go on strike as soon as next month, just as the city deals with the tridemic crisis of COVID, flu and RSV.

NBC New York