Unite and unite, oh let us unite
for summer is a-coming today,
and whither we are going we all will unite
in the merry morning of May.
The young men of Padstow
they might if they could
for summer is a-coming today,
they might have built a ship
and gilt it all with gold
in the merry morning of May.
Unite and unite...
The young girls of Padstow
they might if they could
for summer is a-coming today
they might have made a garland
of the red rose and the white
in the merry morning of May.
Unite and unite...
[I sang this one at my hippie grade school as we danced around the maypole. One year I sang it as a bedtime song to M on the first of May and had to sing it every night for the next six months. It was the second song we sang this morning--after "Oh What a Beautiful Morning," which I used to sing to Baby M on her changing table and now sing to Fussy Morning M as she lies in bed with her eyes clenched closed, sucking fiercely on her sucky fingers.]
***
I'll sing you one-o, red fly the banners-o.
One is workers unity and ever more shall be so.
I'll sing you two-o, red fly the banners-o.
Two is for a man's own hands working for his living-o,
One is workers unity and ever more shall be so.
I'll sing you three-o, red fly the banners-o.
Three, three, the rights of man...
Four are the four years taken...
Five are the years of the Five Year Plan...
Six are the Tolpuddle Martyrs...
Seven are the hours of the working day...
Eight is the Eighth Red Army...
Nine are the days of the General Strike...
Ten are the Days That Shook the World...
Eleven are the Moscow Dynamos...
Twelve are the books of Lenin...
[S's grandfather sang this one to his father, his father sang it to him, and he sings it to the girls. It's one of M's all-time favorites.]
***
Happy spring, and viva la revolution!
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6 comments:
Wow, those are some Red Diaper babies for sure!
I was raised by Reaganites. I had no idea there was a May Day version of "Who Knows One?"
I'm always fascinated by songs like these-- they're completely foreign to me and my childhood memories.
My girls get the Beatles or Joni Mitchell from me, Sondheim or show tunes from their dad!
Wow you're such a pinko commie momma. Do you think it's safe to sing about worker's rights? Maybe your kids will never grow up to hire you a maid.
For us it was 4 for the 4 great thinkers Marx Lenin Engles Mao
12 for the chimes of the Kremlin bells
13 for the holes in Trotsky's head
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