{"id":21259,"date":"2022-04-02T14:31:05","date_gmt":"2022-04-02T14:31:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/?p=21259"},"modified":"2022-04-02T14:39:55","modified_gmt":"2022-04-02T14:39:55","slug":"from-red-clydeside-to-green-revolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/2022\/04\/02\/from-red-clydeside-to-green-revolution\/","title":{"rendered":"From Red Clydeside to Green Revolution"},"content":{"rendered":"

David Russell of Survivors’ Poetry reviews Pauline Bradley’s From Red Clydeside to Green Revolution<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Available from Sound Inspirations, <\/em>soundinspirations@yahoo.co<\/a>.uk <\/a><\/em><\/strong>\u00a37.00 inc p&p<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

FROM RED CLYDESIDE TO GREEN REVOLUTION by Pauline Bradley<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Ever the sensitive soul, ever the stalwart protester, Pauline Bradley has delivered a stunning collection. The title expresses a radical necessity. I have long considered myself \u2018red and green striped\u2019, having belonged simultaneously to the Labour Party and Green Peace. To sustain its validity, the left must find common cause with the Green Movement; and with Feminism. Her objective is clearly stated on the CD sleeve: \u2018Songs to give strength to everyone struggling to save our planet, taking inspiration from our long history (and her story) of struggling for freedom, justice, against imperialist wars, racism and profiteering.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ballad of John MacLean<\/em> \u2013 this was composed by the veteran Scottish folksinger\/songwriter Mat McGinn<\/strong>. MacLean was a workers\u2019 leader in Glasgow who was sentenced to 5 years\u2019 imprisonment for preaching against the carnage of World War I. In response to riots and strikes, the Establishment (\u2018Lloyd George\u2019s cronies) released him.<\/p>\n

Workers\u2019 Song<\/em> \u2013 this is very much part of the \u2018New Wave\u2019 of protest songs arising from Covid 19. It is credited to Edward Leslie Pickford<\/strong>, who is rooted in the coalfields of County Durham. This song has been covered by such as Dick Gaughan<\/strong> and Tom Gilfellon<\/strong>. Here all the machinations of exploitation and oppression are laid bare.<\/p>\n

Solidarity Forever<\/em> \u2013 lyrics by Ralph Chaplin<\/strong> \u2013 written in 1915 \u2013 valid today, sung here by the Red and Black Song Club. Pauline functions well in an ensemble context<\/p>\n

The other tracks are all Pauline originals:<\/p>\n

Women of Clydebank<\/em> \u2013 this celebrates feminist heroines of the Clydebank area, including Jane Rae who led a strike at the Singer sewing machine factory in 1911. This song was composed in collaboration with the Clydeside Women\u2019s History Group, supported by Glasgow Women\u2019s Library. An excellent digest of activity in that hotbed of protest, and carrying on the spirit into contemporary issues.<\/p>\n

New Paradigm<\/em> \u2013 another Pauline original, an ebullient plea to be charged with \u2018new energy\u2019, to take a positive stance, while not flinching from facing the world\u2019s hazards. It is totally appropriate to infuse a straightforward chorus song with\u00a0 an academic term such as \u2018paradigm\u2019.<\/p>\n

Red Republican<\/em> \u2013 this was written for a play Red Birds<\/em> by Penny Cole<\/strong> \u2013 celebrating a radical Scottish woman Helen McFarlane<\/strong>, who translated the Communist Manifesto. A rousing plea for justice and equality. This song is a fitting companion for Leon Rosselson<\/strong>\u2019s The World Turned Upside Down<\/em>. Suitable invocation of Marx, Engels and Hegel.<\/p>\n

The Virus<\/em> \u2013 described here as a \u2018time of reckoning\u2019, perhaps the Pandemic has the saving grace of forcing people to think more, raising awareness of ecological peril, through bringing a sense of peril to their doorsteps. The appeals for people from \u2018all sides of the political fence\u2019 to sink their differences. Donald Trump gets an apt reprimand, Extinction Rebellion a fair mention. This song sets the Pandemic firmly within a global context; we are exhorted to \u2018love our planet\u2019.<\/p>\n

We can<\/em> \u2013 Written for Climate Strike for our Future<\/strong> \u2013 \u201cA global strike on 15 March 2019 gathered more than one million strikers in 2,200 strikes organised in 125 countries. On 24 May 2019, in the second global strike, 1,600 events across 150 countries drew hundreds of thousands of protesters. A further demonstration, in September 2019, addressed by Jeremy Corbyn, was described as \u2018the greatest demonstration in history\u2019. The events were timed to coincide with the 2019 European Parliament election<\/a>.\u201d This song captures the spirit of this protest, with an ebullient optimism. The campaigning throng is urged rally against the brutal \u2018overdrive\u2019 of capitalism, with all its concomitant pollution and wrecking of the exosphere, to make \u2018a planet for us all. The main part of the song is in a charming Calypso-cum-Spanish style. Its point is powerfully reinforced by the quotation from John Lennon\u2019s Imagine<\/em>. Pauline has always kept abreast of contemporary protest.<\/p>\n

Pauline Bradley stands out as an admirable torchbearer for Peggy Seeger<\/strong>. This collection is conclusive proof that tradition can be vitally contemporary. It has a historical span ranging from the early 20th<\/sup> Century to well into the 21st<\/sup> \u2013 embracing early Socialist, and Feminist, struggles with today\u2019s issues of Covid, Climate Change and global oppression. Many feel that the Radical Left has become archaic and irrelevant; Pauline decisively counteracts this assertion. This is very good also for my sense of historical continuity. I first heard Matt McGinn at the Scots Hoose in Cambridge Circus in 1965. Thanks for the memory jog Pauline!<\/p>\n

I saw quite a lot of the traditional folk scene in London from the 1960s to the 1980s. From then on, in London, it was largely replaced by Acoustic Music and Spoken Word, with the emphasis on original composition. Two vital points here: a) Judging by Pauline\u2019s videos, the 50s-60s style folk ethos continues to flourish in Scotland; b) there has never been any prejudice against traditional material being performed on the contemporary scene. Accordingly, Pauline forms a bridge between those areas. She has been a regular, and much appreciated, performer at Survivors Poetry and Music.<\/p>\n

As a Socialist Feminist, she has bravely tackled the heavily macho material of McGinn and Pickford. Her vocal delivery adds poignancy to all of the material, combining delicacy with intense feeling \u2013 some sense of awe at the massive challenges of the world, together with a determination to face them \u2013 an underlying courage vindicated by its gentle expression.<\/p>\n

A wonderful achievement all round. More power to Pauline \u2013 and the People!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

LYRICS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ballad of John McLean<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dominie, Dominie
\nThere was nane like John Maclean,
\nThe fighting Dominie<\/p>\n

Tell me where ye\u2019re gaun, lad, and who ye\u2019re gaun to meet–
\nI\u2019m headed for the station that\u2019s in Buchanan Street,
\nI\u2019ll join 200,000 that\u2019s there to meet the train
\nThat\u2019s bringing back to Glasgow our own dear John Maclean<\/p>\n

Tell me whaur he\u2019s been, lad, and why has he been there?
\nThey\u2019ve had him in the prison for preaching in the Square,
\nFor Johnny held a finger at all the ills he saw,
\nHe was right side o\u2019 the people, but he was wrong side o\u2019 the law:<\/p>\n

Johnny was a teacher in one o\u2019 Glasgow\u2019s schools
\nThe golden law was silence but Johnny broke the rules,
\nFor a world of social justice young Johnny couldnae wait,
\nHe took his chalk and easel to the men at the shipyard gate.<\/p>\n

The leaders o\u2019 the nation made money hand o\u2019er fist
\nBy grinding down the people by the fiddle and the twist,
\nAided and abetted by the preacher and the Press —
\nJohn called for revolution and he called for nothing less:<\/p>\n

The bosses and the judges united as one man
\nFor Johnny was a danger to their \u201914-\u201918 plan,
\nThey wanted men for slaughter in the fields of Armentiers,
\nJohn called upon the people to smash the profiteers:<\/p>\n

They brought him to the courtroom in Edinburgh toun,
\nBut still he didnae cower, he firmly held his ground,
\nAnd stoutly he defended his every word and deed,
\nFive years it was his sentence in the jail at Peterheid:<\/p>\n

Seven months he lingered in prison misery
\nTill the people rose in fury, in Glasgow and Dundee,
\nLloyd George and all his cronies were shaken to the core,
\nThe prison gates were opened, and John was free once more:<\/p>\n

Matt McGinn<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Workers\u2019 Song<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah, this one\u2019s for the workers who toil night and day
\nBy hand and by brain to earn your pay
\nWho for centuries long past for no more than your bread
\nHave bled for your countries and counted your dead<\/p>\n

In the factories and mills, in the shipyards and mines
\nWe\u2019ve often been told to keep up with the times
\nFor our skills are not needed, they’ve streamlined the job
\nAnd with sliderule and stopwatch our pride they have robbed<\/p>\n

We’re the first ones to starve, we’re the first ones to die
\nThe first ones in line for that pie in the sky
\nAnd we’re always the last when the cream is shared out
\nFor the worker is working when the fat cat\u2019s about<\/p>\n

And when the sky darkens and the prospect is war
\nWho\u2019s given a gun and then pushed to the fore
\nAnd expected to die for the land of our birth
\nThough we’ve never owned one lousy handful of earth?<\/p>\n

We’re the first ones to starve, we’re the first ones to die
\nThe first ones in line for that pie in the sky
\nAnd we’re always the last when the cream is shared out
\nFor the worker is working when the fat cat\u2019s about<\/p>\n

We’re the first ones to starve, we’re the first ones to die
\nThe first ones in line for that pie in the sky
\nAnd we’re always the last when the cream is shared out
\nFor the worker is working when the fat cat\u2019s about<\/p>\n

We’re the first ones to starve, we\u2019re the first ones to die
\nThe first ones in line for that pie in the sky
\nAnd we’re always the last when the cream is shared out
\nFor the worker is working when the fat cat\u2019s about<\/p>\n

And all of these things the worker has done
\nFrom tilling the fields to carrying the gun
\nWe’ve been yoked to the plough since time first began
\nAnd always expected to carry the can<\/p>\n

Edward Leslie Pickford<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Solidarity Forever<\/strong><\/p>\n

When the union’s inspiration through the workers’ blood shall run,
\nThere can be no power greater anywhere beneath the sun;
\nYet what force on earth is weaker than the feeble strength of one,
\nBut the union makes us strong.<\/p>\n

Chorus<\/strong>
\nSolidarity forever, (x3)
\nFor the union makes us strong.<\/p>\n

Is there aught we hold in common with the greedy parasite,
\nWho would lash us into serfdom and would crush us with his might?
\nIs there anything left to us but to organize and fight?
\nFor the union makes us strong.<\/p>\n

Chorus<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is we who plowed the prairies; built the cities where they trade;
\nDug the mines and built the workshops, endless miles of railroad laid;
\nNow we stand outcast and starving midst the wonders we have made;
\nBut the union makes us strong.<\/p>\n

Chorus<\/strong><\/p>\n

All the world that’s owned by idle drones is ours and ours alone.
\nWe have laid the wide foundations; built it skyward stone by stone.
\nIt is ours, not to slave in, but to master and to own.
\nWhile the union makes us strong.<\/p>\n

Chorus<\/strong><\/p>\n

They have taken untold millions that they never toiled to earn,
\nBut without our brain and muscle not a single wheel can turn.
\nWe can break their haughty power, gain our freedom when we learn
\nThat the union makes us strong.<\/p>\n

Chorus<\/strong><\/p>\n

In our hands is placed a power greater than their hoarded gold,
\nGreater than the might of armies, multiplied a thousand-fold.
\nWe can bring to birth a new world from the ashes of the old
\nFor the union makes us strong<\/p>\n

Ralph Chaplin<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

____________<\/p>\n

also see:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Pauline Bradley sings Workers\u2019 Song<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    2. \u00a0Pauline Bradley sings about Helen MacFarlane on May Day<\/a><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

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     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    David Russell of Survivors’ Poetry reviews Pauline Bradley’s From Red Clydeside to Green Revolution Available from Sound Inspirations, soundinspirations@yahoo.co.uk \u00a37.00 inc p&p   FROM RED CLYDESIDE TO GREEN REVOLUTION by Pauline Bradley Ever the sensitive soul, ever the stalwart protester, Pauline Bradley has delivered a stunning collection. The title expresses a radical necessity. I have…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1861,1867,1857,1863,1864],"tags":[4401],"class_list":["post-21259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alienation-self-determination","category-emancipation-liberation-and-self-determination","category-environmental-degradation","category-cultural-celebration","category-our-history","tag-author-pauline-bradley"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"views":3779,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21259","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21259"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21259\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21265,"href":"https:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21259\/revisions\/21265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}