Centralia

from Bearing Witness by David Rovics

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11/11/1919, when local Wobblies decided, at great personal expense, to physically fight back against the national efforts led by the FBI and the American Legion to put an end to the radical labor movement in the USA.

lyrics

It was the 11th of November, 1919
If I were to tell the story and try to set the scene
It was the town of Centralia, in Washington State
Where still today so many people can’t forget the date
The war was on and the way the press put on the spin
They named all the Wobblies “the enemy within”
They were German agents, and if that line didn’t stick
After the Russian Revolution they just called them Bolsheviks

The Seattle General Strike was earlier that year
The Timber Barons were determined that it wouldn’t happen here
The Palmer Raids were on from the west coast to the east
Arson, death and deportation, til the union's deceased
The hall destroyed a year before, this time they prepared
Those who lost so much before decided to be there
On the anniversary of the ending of the war
They were prepared for self-defense, because they knew the score

Across the country when the union was attacked
In Centralia the Wobblies fought back

The patriotic mob was marching past the union hall
In uniformed formation several Legionnaires would fall
As they went inside the building, the gunshots would resound
From union men who thought they had the right to stand their ground
The cops would not protect them, but afterwards they came
To charge seven Wobs with murder in the prosecutor’s name
But not before a power cut turned off all the light
And the mob came to the jail that night

They grabbed Wesley Everest, dragged him from his cell
The things they did to him are too horrible to tell
They hung this union organizer beneath the bridge on Mellen Street
Brought his body back, laid it at his cellmates’ feet
Who each got 25 to 40, in a railroad court In a trial as unfair as it was short
This is a story of the workers, how they were held in check
When they lynched Wesley Everest with a rope around his neck

Now it’s been more than a century since that abomination
Since the war against the Wobblies across all of Creation
Since the FBI was formed to stop a revolution
Complete with lies and defamation, legal persecution
And sending in the Legion to do the dirty job
Protected by police, like a proxy lynch mob
Doesn’t matter if you like it, you can disagree
I’m just telling you a tale from US history

credits

from Bearing Witness, released April 19, 2024

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David Rovics Portland, Oregon

Singer/songwriter, writer, podcaster (on Spotify, Substack & Patreon), anarchist, dad, lover of life.

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