VOA慢速英语2009年-THIS IS AMERICA - Marching to the Music: S

VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:
　
Union members and their supporters march during a Labor¹ Day parade in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 2007

And I'm Barbara Klein. Most of the world observes Labor Day on May first. But the United States has its workers holiday on the first Monday in September. Today on our program, we have a few songs from the history of the American labor movement.

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VOICE ONE:

Labor songs are traditionally stories of struggle and pride, of timeless demands for respect and the hope for a better life.

Sometimes they represent old songs with new words. One example is "We Shall Not Be Moved." It uses the music and many of the same words of an old religious song.

Here is folksinger Pete Seeger with "We Shall Not Be Moved."

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VOICE TWO:

Many classic American labor songs came from workers in the coal mines of the South. Mine owners bitterly opposed unions. In some cases, there was open war between labor activists³ and coal mine operators.

VOICE ONE:

Once, in Harlan County, Kentucky, company police searched for union leaders. They went to one man's home but could not find him there. So they waited outside for several days.
　
Pete Seeger

The coal miner's wife, Florence Reece, remained inside with her children. She wrote this song, "Which Side Are You On?"

Again, here is Pete Seeger.

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VOICE TWO:

Probably the most famous labor songwriter in America was Joe Hill. He was born in Sweden and came to the United States in the early nineteen hundreds. He worked as an unskilled laborer⁴.

Joe Hill joined the Industrial Workers of the World, known as the Wobblies. More than any other union, they used music in their campaigns, urging members to "sing and fight."

VOICE ONE:

One of Joe Hill's best-known songs is "Casey Jones." It uses the music from a song about a train engineer. In the old song, Casey Jones is a hero. He bravely keeps his train running in very difficult conditions.

In Joe Hill's version, Casey Jones is no hero. His train is unsafe. Yet he stays on the job after other workers have called a strike against the railroad company.

Pete Seeger and the Song Swappers sing "Casey Jones (The Union Scab)."

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VOICE TWO:

Another American labor song is called "Bread and Roses." That term was connected with the women's labor movement.

The song was based on a poem called "Bread and Roses" by James Oppenheim. The poem was published in The American Magazine in December of nineteen eleven.

The following month there was a famous strike by textile workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts. They won higher pay and better working conditions. Oppenheim's poem gained more attention.

At that time, conditions in factories were already a national issue. In nineteen eleven, a fire at a clothing factory in New York had taken the lives of one hundred forty-six people. The victims were mostly immigrant women.

Here is Pat Humphries with "Bread and Roses."

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VOICE ONE:

Union activists know that labor songs can unite and help people feel strong. This can be true even when the music has nothing to do with unions.

"De Colores" is a popular Spanish folksong. It talks about fields in the spring, little birds, rainbows and the great loves of many colors.

This song is popular with supporters of the United Farm Workers union. We listen as Baldemar Velasquez leads the band Aguila Negra in "De Colores."

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VOICE TWO:

For many years, folksinger Joe Glazer⁵ was a union activist² with a guitar. He was also a labor historian⁶. "Labor's Troubadour" was the name of a book he wrote about his life. He believed in organized labor and preserving the musical history of the American labor movement. Joe Glazer died in two thousand six at the age of eighty-eight.

Here is Joe Glazer with "Solidarity⁷ Forever," written by Ralph Chaplin.

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VOICE ONE:

Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Barbara Klein. To learn more about American life, go to voaspecialenglish.com, where you can download archives of our programs. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

3 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 laborer   

n.劳动者，劳工

参考例句：

• Her husband had been a farm laborer.她丈夫以前是个农场雇工。
• He worked as a casual laborer and did not earn much.他当临时工，没有赚多少钱。

5 glazer   

n.上釉工人，加光工人

参考例句：

• There's no set figure from the Glazer family [for transfers]. 格拉泽家族没有设置限制。 来自互联网
• The Glazer family have insisted that Manchester United are not for sale. 格雷泽家族已经强调曼彻斯特联是非卖品。 来自互联网

6 historian   

n.历史学家，编史家

参考例句：

• As a historian,he was most typical of the times in which he lived.作为历史学家，他是他所处时代最有代表性的人物。
• He calls himself a historian,but his books are a mere journalism.他自称为历史学家，但是他的书都是些肤浅的通俗作品。

7 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。