Phil Ochs - Links On The Chain Lyrics
Pre>Intro: d a c d a (2x)A c d aCome you ranks of labor, come you union core,C d aAnd see if you remember the struggles of before,F#m d eWhen you were standing helpless on the outside of the doorBm e aAnd you started building links on the chain.Bm d e aOn the chain, you started building links on the chain.When the police on the horses were waitin on demand,Ridin through the strike with the pistols in their hands,Swingin at the skulls of many a union man,As you built one more link on the chain, on the chain,As you built one more link on the chain.Then the army of the fascists tried to put you on the run,But the army of the union, they did what could be done,Oh, the power of the factory was greater than the gun,As you built one more link on the chain, on the chain,As you built one more link on the chain.And then in 1954, decisions finally made,The black man was a-risin fast and racin from the shade,And your union took no stand and your union was betrayed,As you lost yourself a link on the chain, on the chain,As you lost yourslef a link on the chain.And then there came the boycotts and then the freedom rides,And forgetting what you stood for, you tried to block the tide,Oh, the automation bosses werre laughin on the side,As they watched you lose your link on the chain, on the chain,As they watched you lose your link on the chain.You know when they block your trucks boys, by layin on the road,All that they are doin is all that you have showed,That you gotta strike, you gotta fight to get what you are owed,When youre building all your links on the chain, on the chain,When youre building all your links on the chain.Amd the man who tries to tell you that theyll take your job away,Hes the same man who was scabbin hard just the other day,And your unions not a union till hes thrown out of the way,And hes chokin on your links of the chain, of the chain,And hes chokin on your links of the chain.For now the times are tellin you the times are rollin on,And youre fighting for the same thing, the jobs that will be gone,Now its only fair to ask you boys, which side are you on?As youre buildin all your links on the chain, on the chain,As youre buildin all your links on the chain./pre>
