Anna~Anna
"Flintville Annie"
© 2006-2015
I told ya so!!! (here). You REALLY should've watched it... hehehe
Good Morning All;
After 2 more doctor appointments yesterday, I am not feeling any better.
Due to my migraine, I had to call and cancel my appointment for the 6 shots to my back on Monday.
No big deal. I can still move- just not as fast.
(But that's OK, the guns are still loaded and within reach).
Had to bring Punk to the vet yesterday also... She will be alright, but has 2 dental caries that need to be fixed/pulled.
How come EVERYBODY but me gets to have THEIR teeth pulled?!?!
But this all has nothing to do with my blog-
Besides, Casey is sicker than me and Punk put together.
Read on, ♪ "on... Wisconsin" ♪
Tue Jan 03, 2012 at 04:57 AM PST
The Pulaski High Marching Band, of Pulaski Wisconsin, made an awesome statement in yesterday's Rose Bowl Parade.
It was quite an honor for the Red Raiders from this small town (pop. approx. 3000) northwest of Green Bay to be marching in 80-degree weather in Pasadena, while their proud community looked on from windy 18-degree Wisconsin. (Me, Shivering).
The TV coverage started as they marched along playing "On Wisconsin," looking properly Badger-like in their red uniforms.
And then they got to the grandstand, at about 1:15 in the YouTube ... listen to what happened.
You Tube Link is HERE.
(I can't see it, but I hope it posted correctly)???
There once was a union maid, She never was afraid
Of goons and ginks and company finks
And the deputy sheriffs who made the raid
She went to the union hall, When a meeting it was called
And when the company boys came round
She always stood her ground
Listen to the announcers -- they have no idea what's going on, what the tune is, what statement is being made here.
"They just stopped in the middle, this band, and they're gettin' down!" says the announcer.
Oh yes, they're gettin' down -- (Me, ROTF)!
To Union Maid, written by Woody Guthrie!
Oh, you can't scare me,
I'm sticking to the union
I'm sticking to the union,
I'm sticking to the union
Oh, you can't scare me,
I'm sticking to the union
I'm sticking to the union
till the day I die
The cheers as they finish the song are great.
I bet there were more than a few people in the crowd who realized what had just happened.
"The crowd likes them!" declares the announcer, blissfully unaware. (Me, ROTF)! & "duh!"
I hope it was the musicians themselves who selected this song, who planned this action.
It would be reminiscent of the students from East High in Madison who determinedly marched out of school down East Washington last February to swell the protests at the Capitol.
My favorite verse of the song is one that was added in the 1980s, and is included in the Solidarity Singalong songbook.
You women who want to be free
Just take a tip from me
Break out of that mold we've all been sold
You got a fighting history
The fight for women's rights
With workers must unite
Like Mother Jones, bestir them bones
To the front of every fight!
The struggle continues here in Wisconsin. Two more weeks to get those recall signatures -- rumor has it that we're over the top with the Walker sigs, but we're not stopping now!
Onward to a million! (Me, "WOOT~WOOT)!
P.S. UPDATE BELOW
Update:
Oh, my stars and garters.
Type up a quick little protest-music diary before breakfast in the morning, come back after work to find a full-fledged public relations brouhaha in the works.
Hat tip to Gangster Octopus in the comments for alerting me to the fact that the uproar over this diary has caused the Pulaski school superintendant to release a statement disavowing any political content and claiming that the band director only knew of the song as "Red Wing."
Personally, I only knew the song as "Union Maid" this morning before breakfast. There have been many fine comments since then with more information on the Red Wing version of the song. There's probably a whole other diary to be written on the various versions -- the original Red Wing lyrics about the sorrowful Indian maid (interesting bit of white-America cultural arrogance to set such lyrics to a polka!), a parody about Charlie Chaplin, several more with risque lyrics that have the pretty Red Wing taking a Bowie knife to the privates of those who would molest her. Or, apparently, one can play it as a polka and ignore the lyric-echoes altogether.
Taking the band director at his reported word, perhaps he's learned something about the origin of the Red Wing piece as well. Or maybe we're seeing the playing out of a plausible-deniability strategy. I don't know -- I haven't spoken to anyone in question here. I'm just blogging from a distance, based on my observations from where I stand.
If there are still things to be learned about the repertoire, I should point out that it was reported on the Solidarity Singalong Facebook page that the Pulaski band also has in its repertoire, and played along the Tournament of Roses Parade route, "Shouting the Battle Cry of Freedom" and "The Battle Hymn of the Republic."
Those would also be known as "There Is Power in a Union" by Joe Hill (more recently recorded by Billy Bragg) and "Solidarity Forever," written for the International Workers of the World by Ralph Chapin in 1915.
However you want to interpret the selections, there's no denying that the Pulaski Red Raiders Marching Band did a fantastic job in the parade, and represented Wisconsin well. If you would like to donate to defray the cost of their Rose Bowl trip ($300,000 all told!), please do so at the following link:
Pulaski Music Boosters -- Donate Now!
(h/t to my partner in protest and in life, A FIB in Cheddarland, for the link>)
