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Scabs

by Dead Work

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  • Streaming + Download

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  • Scabs Limited Release CD
    Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Each copy of the CD is cut, folded and glued by us! Designed by Bridson Wills (bridsonwills.com) and Jon Pizarro. There are roughly 80 left of the original 100 made so get em while they last!

    Includes unlimited streaming of Scabs via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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1.
Maintain opposition, turn up the heat till we see some contrition Cash for the dead work, abolish the scrip Keep my family safe from the mine owners whip 8 hours for work, 8 hours for play, 8 hours for rest at the end of the day These concessions are fair when yer risking yer life For a roof over yer head and a meal for yer kids and wife Armed thugs watch out camp and decide who can leave While the company store, decides what we need The only personal decision we get, is to work for the mine or rot in a ditch CF&I own the state and the state owns the land, without personal wealth, there's no way I can Relocate my family and start new again So my options are scab or join in the strike campaign Against corporate statehood, unfettered profits that won't see our pockets Supply side economics leave us in want cold hungry and gaunt John D. bought the national guard, to quell the dispute But the pressure is rising, the lines gonna break. The match has been put to the fuse of this powder keg The men take position on Water Tank Hill, the signal 3 blasts and the orders to kill Ludlow is bustling, confusion and fear sweep the campsite and poison the dark atmosphere A man he comes running with white flag in hand, unable to prevent whats soon to begin The charges are set and the first 2 are heard, but bullets and screams cover the third
2.
Bullets flying, children crying Tearing through the canvas marking up the earth Women screaming, men are bleeding Echo through the canyons exposing the outburst Fire reigns down upon the dusty plains below the hills More troops arrive to fight from Aguilar to Rameyville 10 hours straight, we sit and wait For the hail storm to subside Down in the well, trapped in this hell Silently counting the moments till we're dead by yer side News is spreading, grabbing headlines Battle on the field of the Ludlow mines Ammo depleting, strikers retreating Abandoning posts at the front of the line The orders given, drive the people out and burn the village The Guard becomes a mod, they terrorize and start to pillage A train comes riding down the tracks Creating lulls in the attacks Families disperse while out of sight The flames dance long into the night The fires swell as they reach for the sky And burn all night long before they start to subside Poor Mary wakes from her nightmarish sleep Delirious, thirsty and weak at the knees She stumbles drunkenly out of the debris Looking for comfort amongst refugees A woman asks of the fate of her children Surely they've passed for I tried but can't stir them Beyond the Black Hills a group of men gather their guns And plan to repay them with blood
3.
Ten Day War 04:05
Bodies lay lifeless, alongside the train tracks With more in the ruins where Ludlow stood Now telegrams make their way out of state A mass call to arms with intent to retaliate These bloody crimes will not go unanswered We aim to bring them the wrath they deserve A bullet named for every life taken Tear through the hillsides burning the mines to the ground As they fall we will dance to the sound Striking miners arrive from every surrounding town Finding strength in our numbers we'll tear this whole structure down You said you'd fight to protect yer business You'd go to war to preserve yer assets For 10 days, we owned this land From north Louisberg down to Trinidad Crying for help, from President Wilson Before it spreads to the great Denver Basin Federal troops are boarding the train A desperate last effort to protect the mines that remain From the fate that the others have faced 60 lives sacrificed, and just for the strike to break A century later and still we are forced to beg

about

Scabs is the story of the Ludlow Massacre. Back in 1913, the death toll for miners in Colorado was twice the national average. Colorado Fuel & Iron had the state in it's pocket, and though regulations were in place to protect miners, the laws were not enforced. A strike began that lasted for over a year. Their demands were an 8 hour day, payment forms other than scrip, which was only usable at company stores, extra pay for doing dead work, and enforcement of Colorado state mining laws. For months, small pockets of violence broke out between strikers and the National Guard. This all came to a head on April 20th, when the National Guard set up a machine gun overlooking the Ludlow tent colony. The strikers and their families saw the soldiers scrambling and everyone started to panic. Women grabbed children and hid, and men armed themselves and took positions in rifle pits. No one really knows who started the gunfight, the strikers blamed the soldiers and vice versa. For almost 12 hours they exchanged fire as the soldiers slowly pushed the strikers back from the tent colony. When most of the miners were driven out of the colony, the National Guard moved in and burned Ludlow to the ground. When morning came, and the last of the fires had died down, roughly 20 people were dead, including 11 women and 2 children, who were suffocated by smoke and heat while hiding in a pit that was dug out in their tent. Word got out of the tragedy, and miners arrived from all over the state with weapons and ammo. For 10 days, thousands of miners ran through the hills of Colorado, shooting scabs, mine operators and burning mines and surrounding buildings down. It was the second biggest uprising since the Civil War. The strike would break a few months later, and was considered a failure at the time, though years later, historians now view it as a major turning point for workers rights.

credits

released July 31, 2013

All songs written, recorded and performed by Jon Pizarro
Artwork and layout by Jon Pizarro and Bridson Wills (bridsonwills.com)
Ten Day War intro sample taken from Eleanor Swansons book of poems called "Trembling in the Bones"
Ten Day War outro sample taken from Howard Zinns talk "The Hidden History of the American Working Class"

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Dead Work Boulder, Colorado

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