Music
We Were There
"We Were There!" is a multi-media women's labor history project featuring voices, songs, and slides depicting our sisters' struggles from abolitionist Sojourner Truth, fighting for women's rights to Dolores Huerta fighting with the farmworkers of today.
These stories are inspirational, compelling, and exhilarating.
"We Were There!" brings history back to life. Presented in the here and now, "the production is designed to allow local women to step into the shoes of these leaders by taking on their personae and reading their original writings – all against a backdrop formed by larger-than-life images of the women." (AFL-CIO America@Work, Dec./Jan. 1997-1998).
The project was developed for the UALE NE Summer Institute for Union Women, where it has been performed for the last 17 years.
Music by Bev Grant, veteran social activist, feminist, singer/songwriter from Brooklyn, NY and formerly leader of the band, Human Condition. Currently musical director of the Brooklyn Women's Chorus, Bev has been the cultural director of the UALE NE Summer Institute for Union Women for the past 17 years. She has recorded six albums, including "Bev Grant In Tune," and has recorded a companion CD and songbook for "We Were There!"
Song list — We Were There
- We Were There — by Bev Grant
- Harriet Tubman — by Walter Robinson
- Cotton Mill Girls — by Hedy West
- Which Side Are You On? — by Florence Reese
- Union Maid — by Woody Guthrie
- Ballad of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire — Roth Rubin
- Bread & Roses — by James Oppenheim/Caroline Kohlsaat
- De Colores — traditional
- The Ones Who’ve Gone Before Us — by Dorie Elsey Blesof
View online — We Were There
Listen online — We Were There
To hear clips of all songs from this album or to pay for individual song downloads, visit http://cdbaby.com/cd/bevgrant.
Lyrics Listen online — We Were There
By Bev Grant
We have ploughed and we have planted.
We have gathered into barns
Done the same work as the men with babies in our arms
But you won't find our stories in most history books you read
We were there.
We're still here fighting for the things we need
Chorus:
We were there in the factories.
We were there in the mills
We were there in the mines
And came home to fix the meals
We were there on the picket line
We raised our voices loud
It makes me proud just knowing we were there
From the textile mills in Lawrence
To the sweatshops in New York
From the fields in California where our children had to work
We fought to make a living. Bread and Roses was our cry
Though they jailed and beat our bodies, our spirits never died
Repeat chorus
We were Polish, we were Irish, we were African and Jew
Italian and Latina, Chinese and Russian, too
They tried to use our differences to split us all apart
But the pain we shared together
Touched the bottom of our heart
Repeat chorus
We are teachers, we are doctors, we are cooks and engineers
Letter carriers, truck drivers, conductors and cashiers
We operate machinery, we fly the big airplanes
And we help to build our unions.
We've got struggle in our veins
Repeat chorus
"We Were There!" is an hour long program available to unions, women's programs, community groups, and schools and universities. Contact Bev for booking info.