Union
We’ll build a mighty union
Throughout the Commonwealth
To stand up for the workers
Against those who rob by stealth.
Black and white will gather
Men and women too
Old and young together
Will build this world anew.
Fighting for the rights we’ve won
That they would take away;
Fighting for each other
Our union’s here to stay
In our mighty union
There’s room for everyone
We want bread and roses
And our place in the sun.
The boss’s class wants workers
Bowing to their will
We’ll tell them they can stick it
That we are fighting still.
They’ll not lash us to their yoke
We’ll stand solid like a tree
They’ll never break our struggle
United in our dignity.
We’ll safeguard the workers
Confined to the scrap heap:
They’ll not conscript the unemployed
To get workers on the cheap.
Rich and poor together
Town and country too,
Single parents and their kids
Will build this world anew.
Yes, we’ll build a mighty union
Throughout this wide brown land,
Each of us together
Will make them understand.
Workers are not fodder
Australians are not fools
We’re flesh and blood and feelings
Not their lifeless tools.
John Tomlinson
Via www.nit.com.au