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Bread and Roses?

Sun, 24/02/2008 - 12:49pm — sysadmin

'Bread and Roses' is the name of a song inspired by a landmark strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts in 1912. This action taken by 35,000 textile workers, won real concessions from exploitative woollen companies; concessions for the strikers themselves, and for the quarter of a million textile workers in New England.

It was led by the IWW and led by women:

" The women worked in the mills for lower pay and in addition had all the housework and care of the children. The old world attitude of men as the 'lord and master' was strong at the end of the day's work ... or now of strike duty ... the man went home and sat at ease while his wife did all the work, preparing the meal, cleaning the house etc. There was considerable opposition to women going to meetings and marching on the picket line. We resolutely set out to combat these notions. The women wanted to picket!"

IWW Organiser, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn

During the ten-week strike there were daily parades of solidarity in the town. Watching one of these was the poet James Oppenheim, who noticed a banner carried by some young women, which read "We want bread and roses too". This inspired him to write the poem below, which was then set to music by Martha Coleman or Caroline Kohlsaat. The resulting song became both a working class anthem and a powerful cry for the real emancipation of women.

As we come marching, marching in the beauty of the day,
A million darkened kitchens, a thousand mill lofts grey,
Are touched with all the radiance that a suddeen sun discloses,
For the people hear us singing: "Bread and Roses! Bread and Roses!"
 
As we come marching, marching, we battle too for men,
For they are women's children, and we mother them again.
Our lives shall not be sweated from birth until life closes;
Hearts starve as well as bodies; give us bread, but give us roses!
 
As we come marching, marching, unnumbered women dead
Go crying through our singing their ancient cry for bread.
Small art and love and beauty their drudging spirits knew,
Yes, it is bread we fight for -- but we fight for roses too!
 
As we come marching, marching, we bring the greater days.
The rising of the women means the rising of the race.
No more the drudge and idler -- ten that toil where one reposes,
But a sharing of life's glories: Bread and Roses! Bread and Roses!