Should I ever be a soldier
‘Neath the Red Flag I would fight;
Should the gun I ever shoulder
It’s to crush the tyrant’s might
-Joe Hill
Hellraisers Journal, Sunday April 15, 1917
From the Industrial Workers: A Poem From a Patriot
SOURCE & IMAGES
Industrial Worker
(Seattle, Washington)
-Apr 14, 1917
https://libcom.org/files/Industrial%20Worker%20(April%2014,%201917).pdf
“The Patriot” can be sung to “Yankee Doodle”
A Patriot.
I love my country, yes I do,
I love my Uncle Sam.
I also love my steak and eggs
And bread and beans and ham.
If I were dead I could not eat
And tho I’d not be missed,
I’d miss my feed-Oh, yes, indeed;
I guess I won’t enlist.
I love my flag, I do, I do,
Which floats upon the breeze.
I also love my arms, my legs,
And neck, and nose and knees.
One little shell might spoil them all
Or give them such a twist,
They would be of no use to me;
I guess I won’t enlist.
I love my country, yes I do,
I hope our men do well.
Without our arms and legs and things,
I think we’d look like hell.
Young men with faces half shot off
Are unfit to be kissed.
I’ve read in books, it spoils their looks;
I guess I won’t enlist.
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