Casey Jones—the Union Scab

"Casey Jones—the Union Scab" is a song, written by labor figure Joe Hill in San Pedro, California, shortly after the first day of a nationwide walkout of 40,000 railway employees in the Illinois Central shopmen's strike of 1911.[1] It is a parody of the song "The Ballad of Casey Jones" and is sung to its tune.

"Casey Jones—the Union Scab"
Song
LanguageEnglish
Published1912
Songwriter(s)Composer: Eddie Newton
Lyricist: Joe Hill

The song is not historically accurate: Casey Jones was an active, dues-paying member of two labor unions (the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers) that both paid out life insurance to his widow.[2]

The song was published in the Little Red Songbook in 1912.[3] The song was included in a 2006 album of American folk songs "Classic Labor Songs from Smithsonian Folkways" released by the Smithsonian Institution.[4]

Recordings of Joe Hill’s lyrics exist by Utah Phillips, and by Pete Seeger; translations into foreign language include those in Russian, by Leonid Utyosov, and in Hungarian, by the Szirt Együttes.

See also
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References
  1. Smith, Gibbs M. (2009). Joe Hill. p. 21. ISBN 9781423610106. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  2. "Water Valley Casey Jones Railroad Museum in Water Valley, Mississippi". Archived from the original on November 5, 2013.
  3. Smith, Gibbs M. (2009). Joe Hill. p. 26.
  4. "Classic Labor Songs from Smithsonian Folkways". Smithsonian Folkways. Smithsonian Institution. 2006. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
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