This song is available on John McCutcheon's Autumnsongs.
"The original celebration of Labor Day was May 1st, commemorating those workers killed in Chicago's Haymarket demonstrations for the 8-hour day on May 1, 1886. Most countries around the world still celebrate Labor Day on May 1."
In school we learn the well-known names
The ones whose money was their fame
Who ran the railroads, bought the West
Today we mention all the rest
Who blazed the trail that brought us here
Whose family names we'll never hear
Who laid the track and dug the coal
The brain and muscle, heart and soul.
Chorus:
Labor Day, Labor Day
September or the first of May
To all who work this world we say
Happy Labor Day.
The ones who work behind the plow
The ones who stand and will not bow
The ones who care for home and child
The ones who labor meek and mild
The ones who work a thousand ways
That we might celebrate this day
The ones who raise our cities tall
For those who labor, one and all
Chorus
In history books I often find
That children worked in mill and mine
No time to play, to learn, or grow
Just send 'em in or down below
Today too many have forgot
The goals for which our parents fought
When I grow up I hope to be
As strong as those who fought for me.
Chorus
This song is available on John McCutcheon's Autumnsongs.
