Labor Sings! Exhibit


Almanac Singers "Babe O' Mine" Written by Sarah Ogan Gunning

I'm gonna write you a letter, babe o' mine.
I'm gonna write you a letter, babe o' mine.
I'm gonna write you a letter just as quick as times get better,
But I've gotta get organized, babe o' mine!

I'm a-goin' around this world, babe o' mine.
I'm a-goin' around this world, babe o' mine.
I'm a-goin' around it once and I'm a-goin' around it twice,
And I'm a-gonna get organized, babe o' mine!

I'm a-goin' to California, babe o' mine.
I'm a-goin' to California, babe o' mine.
I'm a-goin' to California, it's a rough and tedious journey,
And I gotta keep organizin', babe o' mine!

I'm a gonna leave old North Carolina, babe o' mine.
I'm gonna leave old North Carolina, babe o' mine.
I'm gonna leave old North Carolina and I'm gonna catch me a boat to China,
And I gotta keep organizin', babe o'mine!

See the sailors' kids and wives, babe o' mine.
See the sailors' kids and wives, babe o' mine.
See the sailors' kids and wives, I'm compelled to save their lives,
So I've gotta keep organizin', babe o' mine!

Well, we've got to win this race, babe o' mine.
We've got to win this race, babe o' mine.
Yes, we've got to win this race, put the bosses in their place,
And we gotta get organized, babe o' mine!

It's that good old CIO, babe o' mine.
It's that good old CIO, babe o' mine.
It's that good old CIO, 'cause it's everywhere you go
So we'll just keep organizin', babe o' mine!

Organize, organize, babe o' mine.
Organize, organize, babe o' mine.
Well, the boss'll be surprised when he finds us organized,
So we'll just keep organizin', babe o' mine!

The Almanac Singers (Woody Guthrie, Lee Hays, Millard Lampell, Pete Seeger) recorded this song in June 1941, backed by "Song For Bridges" and released as a single by Keynote Records. Written by Sarah Ogan Gunning (1910-1983), half-sister of Aunt Molly Jackson and sister of Jim Garland, the song combined personal relationships with a labor organizing message. In 1937, Sarah was recorded singing this and other songs by Alan Lomax, who deposited the recordings in the Library of Congress. Perhaps Lomax introduced Woody Guthrie and the Almanacs to the song, but Sarah was not pleased with the recording. "I went over to one of these hootenannies just after I got out of the hospital. Woody was there. I was kind of mad about the record," but Woody explained "the reason he put it on the record was that he thought I was gonna die . . . He wanted the working class of people to have the song." The record, however, had limited circulation.

Illustration: Almanac Singers, "dear Mr. President (Keynote Recordings 111, 1942)