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Christian Apuzzo - 1913 Massacre

from A Blue State of Christmas by Various Artists

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about

“1913 Massacre is a ballad written by Woody Guthrie that was penned after reading about a disaster in which 73 people were trampled to death during a Christmas Eve holiday party. The party was for striking miners in Calumet, Michigan and among the dead were 59 children. There is an ongoing debate about the cause of the disaster. The party took place on the second floor of a hall with a single exit down a steep set of stairs and when someone falsely yelled "fire" it caused the stampede. In the song, Woody asserts this tragedy was the result of a practical joke played on hard working men, women and children. The song has been covered by many, most notably Ramblin' Jack Elliot and even inspired the tune for Bob Dylan's own song "Song to Woody” - Cole Rotante

lyrics

Take a trip with me in 1913,
To Calumet, Michigan, in the copper country.
I will take you to a place called Italian Hall,
Where the miners are having their big Christmas ball.

I will take you in a door and up a high stairs,
Singing and dancing is heard everywhere,
I will let you shake hands with the people you see,
And watch the kids dance around the big Christmas tree.

You ask about work and you ask about pay,
They'll tell you they make less than a dollar a day,
Working the copper claims, risking their lives,
So it's fun to spend Christmas with children and wives.

There's talking and laughing and songs in the air,
And the spirit of Christmas is there everywhere,
Before you know it you're friends with us all,
And you're dancing around and around in the hall.

Well a little girl sits down by the Christmas tree lights,
To play the piano so you gotta keep quiet,
To hear all this fun you would not realize,
That the copper boss' thug men are milling outside.

The copper boss' thugs stuck their heads in the door,
One of them yelled and he screamed, "there's a fire, "
A lady she hollered, "there's no such a thing.
Keep on with your party, there's no such thing."

A few people rushed and it was only a few,
"It's just the thugs and the scabs fooling you, "
A man grabbed his daughter and carried her down,
But the thugs held the door and he could not get out.

And then others followed, a hundred or more,
But most everybody remained on the floor,
The gun thugs they laughed at their murderous joke,
While the children were smothered on the stairs by the door.

Such a terrible sight I never did see,
We carried our children back up to their tree,
The scabs outside still laughed at their spree,
And the children that died there were seventy-three.

The piano played a slow funeral tune,
And the town was lit up by a cold Christmas moon,
The parents they cried and the miners they moaned,
"See what your greed for money has done."

credits

from A Blue State of Christmas, released November 28, 2017
Written and originally recorded by Woody Guthrie
Performed by Christian Apuzzo

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Hoover Dam Collective New York

The Hoover Dam Collective is a group of young artists based in Brooklyn, NY, who are particularly interested in making work that crosses the boundaries of traditional art disciplines. The Collective was founded in 2009 at SUNY Purchase College. The HDC produces performances in and around New York City, which feature collaboration between music, dance, film, theater, comedy, and visual art. ... more

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