"I'm proud to say I was present when 'Union Maid' was written in June, 1940, in the plain little office of the Oklahoma City Communist Party. Bob Wood, local organizer, had asked Woody Guthrie and me to sing there the night before for a small group of striking oil workers. Early next morning, Woody got to the typewriter and hammered out the first two verses of 'Union Maid' set to a European tune that Robert Schumann arranged for piano ('The Merry Farmer') back in the early 1800s. Of course, it's the chorus that really makes it - its tune, 'Red Wing,' was copyrighted early in the 1900s."[3]
The song's final verse, on women's role in unions was written later by Lampell and other Almanac members. In performance, this verse has been adapted over the years to reflect changing attitudes, or dropped altogether" [Wikipedia: "Union Maid"]
- "Union Maids" is the name of a 1976 film, nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary feature, about three Chicago women involved in the union movement in the '30s.
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Joan's previous interviews with Eric:
"Making Manna" - A Novel about Incarceration and Baking Bread 3.14.2015
Talking with Eric Lotke, Author of "2044:The Problem isn't Big Brother. It's Big Brother, Inc. " 8.30.2009
Part Two of that interview
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