The Rank and File Officer

from Rust Belt Ballads by Emmett Doyle

supported by

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$1 USD or more
Buy the Full Digital Album

about

This is a little blues ditty I wrote one day after coming home from a frustrating interaction with a union official, and thinking on the differences between the rank and file and officials who aren't on the job site. The most important place for a labor militant to be, is with the workers, on the job site. Our unions need a real presence on the job site, or we have no power, no matter how much energy we spend electioneering or lobbying.

lyrics

G G7
You ran as the rank and file
C C7
But buddy now it's been a while
G D7
Since I've seen you walkin' 'round the floor
G G7
You've been climbin' up the ranks
C C7
and the old guard pie cards send their thanks
G D7 G
Since you traded in the tools you wore
E7 C
I try to talk to you about the grievances we've lost
E7 C D7
But every time I try, you're meetin' with the boss
G G7
First you went and got elected,
C C7
Then you squared up and defected
G D7 G
For a new truck and a name plate on your door

You used to call for wildcats
Now you never mention that
and you talk about production with a smile
How PLAs are the way
to raise both profits and our pay
and we don't need the members gettin' riled
Yeah you traded in your steel toes for a pair of shiny shoes
But did you get into office, or did it get into you?
You used to be a workin' man,
Now I think I know why you ran
You were runnin' from the rank and file

credits

from Rust Belt Ballads, released September 1, 2023

license

some rights reserved

about

Emmett Doyle Minneapolis, Minnesota

Emmett is a working class rebel musician- a union carpenter, former river deckhand, raised on a farm in central Minnesota. With American country and blues and Irish traditional roots, he keeps the Long Memory going while singing about today's struggles. His work is rooted in social movements he's an active part of, from labor to defending the earth to fighting hate. ... more

contact / help

Contact Emmett Doyle

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this track or account

If you like Emmett Doyle, you may also like:

In The Ruins They've Left Us, We'll Plant Gardens Still
by Wooden Shoe Ramblers

supported by 6 fans who also own “The Rank and File Officer”

Radical ("from the root") politics and music. Good stuff. jwberns
go to album
The Deserter
by ABC Musical Solidarity- Музична Солідарність АЧХ

supported by 4 fans who also own “The Rank and File Officer”
go to album
Mother Anarchy
by Compilation

supported by 4 fans who also own “The Rank and File Officer”
go to album
Wealth of Sorrow
by Cahalen Morrison

Bright and skipping songs that foreground the sound of the banjo and fingerstyle guitar in music that feels timeless. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 5, 2020
go to album
Spider Tales
by Jake Blount

This album speaks to the continuum of African diasporic culture that is central to the vibrant canon of Americana folk music. Bandcamp Album of the Day May 29, 2020
go to album
The Studio Recordings Part One
by Fly My Pretties

The New Zealand's collaborative group's first studio album is chock-full of delightful folk and country music. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 25, 2019
go to album
Islands
by Erin Durant

On this LP of gentle folk-pop, Durant looks to the water for the answer to life’s questions. Bandcamp Album of the Day Jul 3, 2019
go to album