Along the Shore (A ballad of the longshore workers — Suno-friendly version) When the ships came in from over the sea They called for men along the shore From ancient docks to Boston’s piers They answered with their backs and more Hooks and slings and barrels of grain Cargo piled in the rain and pain Shape-up at dawn, the boss picks few Most walk home with nothing due Chorus We are the men (and women) along the shore From the hold to the hatch, we do the work From Keefe’s first union to Bridges’ call We load the world, we stand, we fall We load the world, we stand, we fall Eighteen forty-seven in Boston town The Provident Union first stood its ground Keefe on the Lakes in seventy-seven Built the I.L.A., gave the bosses hell Nineteen-sixteen the West Coast broke Company books and open shop Blue books burned when the time was right Thirty-four the longshore fight Chorus We are the men (and women) along the shore From the hold to the hatch, we do the work From Keefe’s first union to Bridges’ call We load the world, we stand, we fall We load the world, we stand, we fall Harry Bridges on the Frisco docks Eighty-three days the coast stood locked Bloody Thursday the police guns spoke General strike when the city woke Hiring halls the union ran No more shape-up for any man Thirty-seven the I.L.W.U. born East and West the unions torn Chorus We are the men (and women) along the shore From the hold to the hatch, we do the work From Keefe’s first union to Bridges’ call We load the world, we stand, we fall We load the world, we stand, we fall Then the boxes came, the metal walls Cranes that swing where the gangs once hauled Ninety percent of the jobs went away Machines did the work in a single day M and M on the Pacific side Trade the rules for the modern tide Still we stand with the cards in hand I.L.A. and I.L.W.U. on the land Final Chorus We are the ones along the shore From the ancient call to the container door Hooks to cranes, the story’s told Of the workers who moved the world’s gold Of the workers who moved the world’s goldclassic country
