Holy Trinity High School Class of `73

1969-1973

"Song of the Day"

September 1, 2024

"Part of the Union" is a song by English band Strawbs, released in
January 1973. It was featured on their album Bursting at the Seams and
was the band's most successful single, peaking at #2 in the UK Singles
Chart. It also reached #10 in the Irish Singles Chart. The song quickly
became popular as an unofficial anthem of the trade union movement.

Bursting at the Seams is the fifth studio album by English band Strawbs,
released on 26 January 1973 by A&M Records. The LP peaked at #2 in the
UK Album charts and #121 on the US Billboard 200 Albums chart.

The Strawbs are an English rock band founded in 1964 as the Strawberry Hill
Boys. The band started out as a bluegrass group, but eventually moved on
to other styles such as folk rock and progressive rock. On 11 August 2023,
the Strawbs gave their final live show and farewell concert at Fairport's
Cropredy Convention, an annual festival of folk and rock music, headed by
British folk-rock band Fairport Convention and held on the edge of the
village of Cropredy in Oxfordshire, England. The festival has taken place
in August annually since 1976 attracts up to 20,000 people each year.

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Part of the Union - Strawbs (1973)

Now I'm a union man
Amazed at what I am
I say what I think, that the company stinks
Yes I'm a union man

When we meet in the local hall
I'll be voting with them all
With a hell of a shout, it's "Out brothers, out!"
And the rise of the factory's fall

Oh, you don't get me, I'm part of the union
You don't get me, I'm part of the union
You don't get me, I'm part of the union
Until the day I die
Until the day I die

As a union man I'm wise
To the lies of the company spies
And I don't get fooled by the factory rules
'cause I always read between the lines

And I always get my way
If I strike for higher pay
When I show my card to the Scotland Yard
And this is what I say:

Oh, oh, you don't get me, I'm part of the union
You don't get me, I'm part of the union
You don't get me, I'm part of the union
Until the day I die
Until the day I die

Before the union did appear
My life was half as clear
Now I've got the power to the working hour
And every other day of the year

So though I'm a working man
I can ruin the government's plan
And though I'm not hard, the sight of my card
Makes me some kind of superman

Oh, oh, oh, you don't get me, I'm part of the union
You don't get me, I'm part of the union
You don't get me, I'm part of the union
Until the day I die
Until the day I die

You don't get me, I'm part of the union
You don't get me, I'm part of the union
You don't get me, I'm part of the union
Until the day I die
Until the day I die


Songwriters: Richard Hudson, John Ford

A Playlist of all HT Class of '73 Songs of the Day is available by clicking below:

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