![]() A red flag being waved on International Workers' Day in Madrid | |
Party anthem of Labour Party (UK), Social Democratic and Labour Party (Northern Ireland) and Labour Party (Ireland) | |
Lyrics | Jim Connell, 1889 |
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Music | Melchior Franck, 16th century |
Audio sample | |
The Red Flag sung in 1926 |
"The Red Flag" (Roud V45381) is a socialist song, emphasising the sacrifices and solidarity of the international labour movement. It is the anthem of the British Labour Party, [1] [2] the Northern Irish Social Democratic and Labour Party and the Irish Labour Party. [3] It was formerly used by the New Zealand Labour Party until the late 1940s. [4] The song is traditionally sung at the close of each party's national conference. [5]
Translated versions of the song are sung by the Japanese Communist Party and Korean People's Army. [6]
Irishman Jim Connell wrote the song's lyrics in 1889 in Nicholas Donovan's house. [7] There are six stanzas, each followed by the chorus. It is normally sung to the tune of "Lauriger Horatius", better known as the German carol "O Tannenbaum" ("O Christmas Tree"), though Connell had wanted it sung to the tune of a pro-Jacobite Robert Burns anthem, "The White Cockade". [8] The use of the tune of "O Tannenbaum" was popularised by British socialist writer Adolphe Smith Headingley in the 1890s; Connell disapproved of the tune which he regarded as "church music" and conservative by nature. [9] [10] [11]
When Billy Bragg recorded the song in 1990 with Scottish folk singer Dick Gaughan, he sang it to this original "White Cockade" melody. The lyrics of the first verse and the chorus, which are the most well-known parts of the song, are as follows:
The people's flag is deepest red,
It shrouded oft our martyred dead
And ere their limbs grew stiff and cold,
Their hearts' blood dyed its every fold.
So raise the scarlet standard high,
Beneath its shade we'll live and die,
Though cowards flinch and traitors sneer,
We'll keep the red flag flying here. [12]
"The Red Flag" resonated with the early radical workers' movement in the United States, and it appeared as the first song in the first edition of the Little Red Songbook of the Industrial Workers of the World in 1909. Only five of the six stanzas were printed, omitting the fourth stanza that begins, "It well recalls the triumphs past." [13] In a 1913 article for the Industrial Worker, the celebrated IWW bard Joe Hill rejected the category of "the people" as middle class, and suggested a further change to the song. Referring to his experiences in the Magonista rebellion of 1911, [14] he wrote:
When the Red Flag was flying in Lower California there were not any of "the people" in the ranks of the rebels. Common working stiffs and cow-punchers were in the majority, with a little sprinkling of "outlaws," whatever that is. [...] Well, it is about time that every rebel wakes up to the fact that "the people" and the workingclass [sic] have nothing in common. Let us sing after this "The Workers' flag is deepest red" and to hell with "the people." [15]
The song spread throughout the globe spurred on by the Workers Movement and their quest for a better life, reaching many a remote country. For example, "The Red Flag” was played by the Runanga Band at the conclusion of a burial service for Henry John Morris (AKA Harry, born Henry John Vaughan, 1880-1920) in Greymouth, New Zealand on 11 January 1920. Henry had left Wales for New Zealand in 1908 in part to work in Government Mines far removed from the rugged employment conditions of family-owned mines in Wales. Henry became locally prominent in the Socialist and Labour Movement, [16] as he had been at home in Wales, [17] which is reflected in his last wish for "The Red Flag” to be played at his burial. [18]
In 1982 two very different versions of the song were issued, Shakin Stevens recorded a rock & roll cover of the song known as "Red Flag Rock", while ex-Soft Machine singer and drummer Robert Wyatt included a version on his collection of socialist and resistance songs "Nothing Can Stop Us".
"The Red Flag" has been the British Labour Party's official anthem from its founding; its annual party conference closes with the song. "The Red Flag" was first sung in the House of Commons on 1 August 1945, when Parliament convened after Clement Attlee's Labour defeat of Winston Churchill's Conservatives. [19] Dockers in London were regarded as militant socialists ever since their strike in 1889 for the "dockers' tanner." In the 1950s, at the end of public meetings with management, dockers filling the main floor of the hall sang "The Red Flag" while superintendents and managers (usually segregated in the gallery) simultaneously sang "God Save the Queen". "The Red Flag" was sung by Labour MPs on 27 May 1976, allegedly prompting Michael Heseltine to swing the mace above his head. [20] It was also sung on the evening of 28 March 1979 when a motion of no confidence brought down the Labour Government. [21] It was sung again in Parliament in February 2006 to mark the centenary of the Labour Party's founding. It was sung again in the House of Commons in September 2019 to protest the prorogation of parliament. [22] During the Tony Blair government it was claimed the leadership sought to downplay its role, [1] [23] however, it is often sung at the end of party conferences alongside Jerusalem. [24] [25] Following the 2015 election of veteran socialist Jeremy Corbyn as Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition, "The Red Flag" was sung as he and his supporters celebrated in The Sanctuary, a public house in London. [26]
The People's Flag is deepest red,
It shrouded oft our martyred dead,
And ere their limbs grew stiff and cold,
Their hearts' blood dyed its every fold.
Chorus:
Then raise the scarlet standard high.
Beneath its shade we'll live and die,
Though cowards flinch and traitors sneer,
We'll keep the red flag flying here.
Look round, the Frenchman loves its blaze,
The sturdy German chants its praise,
In Moscow's vaults its hymns were sung
Chicago swells the surging throng.
(chorus)
It waved above our infant might,
When all ahead seemed dark as night;
It witnessed many a deed and vow,
We must not change its colour now.
(chorus)
It well recalls the triumphs past,
It gives the hope of peace at last;
The banner bright, the symbol plain,
Of human right and human gain.
(chorus)
It suits today the weak and base,
Whose minds are fixed on pelf and place
To cringe before the rich man's frown,
And haul the sacred emblem down.
(chorus)
With head uncovered swear we all
To bear it onward till we fall;
Come dungeons dark or gallows grim,
This song shall be our parting hymn.
(chorus)
A famous song of the Italian labour movement has the same title (though in Italian): "Bandiera Rossa", but different lyrics and tune, as does the French song "Le drapeau rouge", known in English as "The Standard of Revolt".
The melody is used in Harold Baum's "The Michaelis Anthem" in The Biochemists' Songbook. [27]
"The Red Flag" was parodied by singer-songwriter Leon Rosselson as the "Battle Hymn of the New Socialist Party," also known as "The Red Flag Once a Year" or "The People's Flag Is Palest Pink." It is intended to satirise the perceived lack of socialist principles in the Labour Party. The initial parody was widely known in the 1960s, sometimes sung during late night parties at student conferences. It was revived in the early 2000s in response to the centrist reforms associated with Tony Blair. [28] A version which began "The people's flag is palest pink, mum washed it in the kitchen sink" was popular among schoolchildren in the 1950s, which may have inspired Rosselson's version. A version can be found as far back as 1920 in "Through Bolshevik Russia" by Ethel Snowden.
A version of the lyrics sung regularly at the Liberal Democrats' Glee Club, also dated to the mid-1960s, is:
The people's flag is palest pink,
It's not as red as most folk think.
We must not let the people know
What socialists thought long ago.
Don't let the scarlet banner float;
We want the middle classes' vote.
Let our old fashioned comrades sneer,
We'll stay in power for many a year. [29]
The anarcho-syndicalist punk band Chumbawamba's "Reubens has been Shot" parodied the song which conflated "The Red Flag" and "Oh Christmastree", which share a common tune, to suggest the corruption or wilting of the Labour movement's original values:
Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree
How bent your branches seem to be
Nineteen twenty-one and all's well
Another fifteen years and we'll be laughing in hell
One bullet straight through the heart
Rubens caught a ricochet, Durer's lady cried today
Cracked old masters up against the wall
Blue-faced Wendy Woolworth--she's seen it all
Housepainter, housepainter
Hanging your swastika wallpaper
Rows of pretty cabbageheads to gobble up your words
Laughing along to your blah, blah, blah [30]
A parody of unknown origin is known as "The Foreman's Job", [31] and this is sometimes considered a rugby song. [32] This has many variants but usually begins:
The working class can kiss my arse
I got the foreman's job at last.
You can tell old Joe I'm off the dole
He can stick his Red Flag up his 'ole!
This parody, reflecting the humorously perceived position of the Labour Party in the 2020s, is by Jeremy Humphries.
For workers we no longer fight –
Rebranded now, we're Tory-lite.
Keir Hardie, well, he's real old hat –
Keir Starmer now is where it's at.
Concern for you has mostly gone,
Unless you live in Islington.
We care not for the working class,
So stick the red flag up your arse.
A version of "The Red Flag" with similar lyrics entitled "We'll Never Die" is the official anthem of Manchester United F.C.:
We’ll never die, we’ll never die
We’ll never die, we’ll never die
We’ll keep the red flag flying high
'Cos Man United never die
A similar football chant is also sung regularly by supporters of Sunderland AFC:
Flying high up in the sky,
We'll keep the red flag flying high,
Wherever you go you're sure to know,
We'll keep the red flag flying high.
Supporters of Bristol City F.C. (also known as ciderheads) sing the same version with a third line of "Ciderheads until we die". AFC Bournemouth fans sing the third line as "Dean Court to Wembley", and Wrexham A.F.C. supporters end with:
On the road to victory,
We'll keep the Welsh flag flying high.
Chelsea F.C. fans sing a version of the song called "The Blue Flag":
From Stamford Bridge to Wembley
We'll keep the blue flag flying high
Flying high up in the sky
We'll keep the Blue flag flying high
From Stamford Bridge to Wembley
We'll keep the blue flag flying high
Northampton Town F.C. supporters have their own adaptation "The Fields Are Green":
The fields are green, the sky is blue
The River Nene goes winding through
The Market Square is cobblestoned
It shakes the old dears to the bones
No finer town you'll ever see
No finer town there'll ever be
Big city lights don't bother me
Northampton Town, I'm proud to be!
Leeds United fans sing a version of the song called "Forever and Ever":
Forever and ever
We'll follow our team
We're Leeds United, we rule supreme
We'll never be mastered, by you,
By you f*cking b*stards
We'll keep the white flag flying high
Supporters of Wolverhampton Wanderers sing a version of the song called "The Gold Flag"
We’ll never die, we’ll never die
We’ll never die, we’ll never die
We're Wanderers, we'll never die
We'll keep the gold flag flying high
A version of "The Red Flag" with similar lyrics entitled "The Net Flag" [33] was introduced near the inception of the World Wide Web:
The people's web is deepest red,
And oft it's killed our routers dead.
But ere the bugs grew ten days old,
The patches fixed the broken code.
So raise the open standard high
Within its codes we'll live or die
Though cowards flinch and Bill Gates sneers
We'll keep the net flag flying here.
The 2001 Hong Kong film Running Out of Time 2 ends with "The Red Flag" at a Christmas party, when it is revealed that the magician-thief made charitable donations to African children.
"The Red Flag" is sung in the 2018 film Red Joan at a Cambridge University socialist meeting circa 1938 attended by the young protagonist (portrayed by Sophie Cookson) and her romantic interest Leo (portrayed by Tom Hughes).
The tune also appears in the title sequence of popular 1970’s UK sitcom Citizen Smith , which is about a Marxist revolutionary living in Tooting, London.
Episode 3, in season 4 of the TV show The Boys (TV series) is titled "We'll Keep The Red Flag Flying Here", a reference to the final lyric of the chorus of "The Red Flag".
"Advance Australia Fair" is the national anthem of Australia. Written by Scottish-born Australian composer Peter Dodds McCormick, the song was first performed as a patriotic song in Australia in 1878. It replaced "God Save the Queen" as the official national anthem in 1974, following a nationwide opinion survey, only for "God Save the Queen" to be reinstated in January 1976. However, a plebiscite to choose the national song in 1977 preferred "Advance Australia Fair", which was in turn reinstated as the national anthem in 1984. "God Save the Queen" became the royal anthem, and is used at public engagements attended by the King or members of the monarchy of Australia. The lyrics of the 1984 version of "Advance Australia Fair" were modified from McCormick's original and its verses were trimmed down from four to two. In January 2021, the official lyrics were changed once again, in recognition of the long habitation of Indigenous Australians.
"Land of Hope and Glory" is a British patriotic song, with music by Edward Elgar, written in 1901 and with lyrics by A. C. Benson later added in 1902.
"Tiến Quân Ca" is the national anthem of Vietnam. The march was written and composed by Văn Cao in 1944, and was adopted as the national anthem of North Vietnam in 1946 and subsequently the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1976 following the reunification of Vietnam. Though it has two verses, only the first one is usually sung.
"John Brown's Body" is a United States marching song about the abolitionist John Brown. The song was popular in the Union during the American Civil War. The song arose out of the folk hymn tradition of the American camp meeting movement of the late 18th and early 19th century. According to an 1889 account, the original John Brown lyrics were a collective effort by a group of Union soldiers who were referring both to the famous John Brown and also, humorously, to a Sergeant John Brown of their own battalion. Various other authors have published additional verses or claimed credit for originating the John Brown lyrics and tune.
The "Horst-Wessel-Lied", also known by its opening words "Die Fahne hoch", was the anthem of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) from 1930 to 1945. From 1933 to 1945, the Nazis made it the co-national anthem of Germany, along with the first stanza of the "Deutschlandlied".
"Solidarity Forever", written by Ralph Chaplin in 1915, is a popular trade union anthem. It is sung to the tune of "John Brown's Body" and "The Battle Hymn of the Republic". Although it was written as a song for the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), other union movements, such as the AFL–CIO, have adopted the song as their own. The song has been performed by musicians such as Utah Phillips, and Pete Seeger. It was redone by Emcee Lynx and The Nightwatchman. It is still commonly sung at union meetings and rallies in the United States, Australia and Canada, and has also been sung at conferences of the Australian Labor Party and the Canadian New Democratic Party. This may have also inspired the hymn of the consumer cooperative movement, "The Battle Hymn of Cooperation", which is sung to the same tune.
"You're a Grand Old Flag" is an American patriotic march. The song, a spirited march written by George M. Cohan, is a tribute to the U.S. flag. In addition to obvious references to the flag, it incorporates snippets of other popular songs, including one of his own. Cohan wrote it in 1906 for his stage musical George Washington, Jr.
The "Battle Cry of Freedom", also known as "Rally 'Round the Flag", is a song written in 1862 by American composer George Frederick Root (1820–1895) during the American Civil War. A patriotic song advocating the causes of Unionism and abolitionism, it became so popular that composer H. L. Schreiner and lyricist W. H. Barnes adapted it for the Confederacy.
"O Tannenbaum", known in English as "O Christmas Tree", is a German Christmas song. Based on a traditional folk song that was unrelated to the holiday, it became associated with the traditional Christmas tree.
"The Bonnie Blue Flag", also known as "We Are a Band of Brothers", is an 1861 marching song associated with the Confederate States of America. The words were written by the entertainer Harry McCarthy, with the melody taken from the song "The Irish Jaunting Car". The song's title refers to the unofficial first flag of the Confederacy, the Bonnie Blue Flag. The left flag on the sheet-music is the Bonnie Blue Flag.
Jim Connell was an Irish political activist of the late 19th century and early 20th century, best known as the writer of the anthem "The Red Flag" in December 1889.
"The Land" is a protest song, traditionally sung by the Georgist movement in pursuit and promotion of land value taxation. Its first appearance is from a Chicago Georgist publication, The Single Tax, in 1887 as "The Land Song" Until the late 1970s it was sung at the end of each year's Liberal Assembly and was the party anthem of the Liberal Party, until that party merged with the SDP to form the Liberal Democrats. To this day it remains the de facto anthem of the Liberal Democrats, and is sung as the first song of the Liberal Democrats' Glee Club, at the twice-per-year Liberal Democrat Conference, and is the party anthem of the continuity Liberal Party. During the chorus, the phrase 'ballot in our hand' is accompanied by the collective waving of any paper to hand by the audience.
"Marching Through Georgia" is a marching song written by Henry Clay Work at the end of the American Civil War in 1865. The title and lyrics of the song refer to U.S. Army major general William T. Sherman's "March to the Sea" to capture the Confederate city of Savannah, Georgia in late 1864.
"The Song of the Western Men", also known as "Trelawny", is a Cornish patriotic song, composed by Louisa T. Clare for lyrics by Robert Stephen Hawker. The poem was first published anonymously in The Royal Devonport Telegraph and Plymouth Chronicle in September 1826, over 100 years after the events.
"Red River Valley" is a folk song and cowboy music standard of uncertain origins that has gone by different names, depending on where it has been sung. It is listed as Roud Folk Song Index 756 and by Edith Fowke as FO 13. It is recognizable by its chorus :
"Sussex by the Sea" is a song written in 1907 by William Ward-Higgs, often considered to be the unofficial county anthem of Sussex. It became well known throughout Sussex and is regularly sung at celebrations throughout the county. It can be heard during many sporting events in the county, during the Sussex bonfire celebrations and it is played by marching bands and Morris dancers across Sussex. It is the adopted song of Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, Sussex Division Royal Naval Reserve, Sussex Association of Naval Officers and Sussex County Cricket Club.
"The Preacher and the Slave" is a song written by Joe Hill in 1911. It was written as a parody of the Christian hymn "In the Sweet By-and-By". Copying or using the musical style of the hymn was also a way to capture the emotional resonance of that style of music and use it for a non-religious purpose.
"The Liberty Song" is a pre-American Revolutionary War song with lyrics by Founding Father John Dickinson. The song is set to the tune of "Heart of Oak", the anthem of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. The song itself was first published in two colonial newspapers, the Pennsylvania Journal and the Pennsylvania Gazette, both on July 7, 1768.
"The Orange and Blue" is the traditional fight song of the Florida Gators intercollegiate sports teams of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida.
"Tramp! Tramp! Tramp! " was one of the most popular songs of the American Civil War. George F. Root wrote both the words and music and published it in 1864 to give hope to the Union prisoners of war. The song is written from the prisoner's point of view. The chorus tells his fellow prisoners that hope is coming. A Confederate version and various other versions have been made.
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