Bread and Roses

18.12.2011 Just found another link for Joan Baez and Mimi Farina singing the inspirational song:





Original Blog:





Whilst 'blog surfing' in my Elizannie hat, I came across a quote from Bread and Roses on Jon Rogers excellent political blog: http://jonrogers1963.blogspot.com/

This is the quote, [on a MayDay card which I have reproduced on the right]:

Our lives shall not be sweated from birth until life closes;
Hearts starve as well as bodies;
Give us bread, but give us roses.

This was so redolent of so many memories and ideas to me that I thought it might be interesting to explore it further on this page!

The poem Bread and Roses was originally written by James Oppenheim (1882-1932), an American poet and writer. He was the founder and editor of The Seven Arts, an early 20thC literary magazine. He wrote about labour struggles troubles [including suffragist themes] in his 1911 fiction book The Nine-Tenths (1911) and in the poem Bread and Roses was also written in 1911 but I suppose came to prominience as a motif for the 1912 textile workers' strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts and as such is associated with the womens' movement because those involved with the strike were mainly women.

The 1912 Lawrence Textile Strike was Union led [by the Industrial Workers of the World] and the immigrant workers were mostly women. One employer lowered wages when the working week was shortened by law,and the industrial action eventually spread to twenty thousand workers at nearly every mill within a week. The strike, despite preidctions of other American trade unions that the workforce of a true downtrodden minority - that of ethnically diverse and mostly women workers - could not be organized, was successful. Sadly over time the union collapsed and workers rights once more were eroded.

The 'Bread and Roses' in the refrain stand for the way that workers lives are made up of more than just the struggle for work and the struggle for beauty has to take place too - other wise work has no inner meaning. To progress is not just for material gain but for emotional and spiritual beauty in our lives!

The term 'Bread and Roses' has since been associated with political strife and was the title of the 2000 Ken Loach film about the right to form a union of Mexican labourers in Los Angeles.

Here is the poem:

As we come marching, marching in the beauty of the day,
A million darkened kitchens, a thousand mill lofts gray,
Are touched with all the radiance that a sudden 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!

For me, there is another memory link. In 1976 Mimi Farina, sister to Joan Baez, set the song to music. I have never been able to find a recording of this but here is a YouTube link



Here is Mimi's adaptation:

As we go marching, marching, in the beauty of the day,
A million darkened kitchens, a thousand mill lofts gray,
Are touched with all the radiance that a sudden sun discloses,
For the people hear us singing: Bread and Roses! Bread and Roses!
As we go 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 go marching, marching, unnumbered women dead
Go crying through our singing their ancient call 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 go 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.
Our lives shall not be sweated from birth until life closes;
Hearts starve as well as bodies; bread and roses, bread and roses.

Read, listen and reflect. And always question!

Links for this blog:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Oppenheim

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_and_Roses
http://www.marxists.org/history/usa/unions/lawrence-strike/index.htm