[00:12.335]Come you ranks of labor, come you union core,
[00:17.975]And see if you remember the struggles of before,
[00:22.791]When you were standing helpless on the outside of the door
[00:27.839]And you started building links on the Chain.
[00:33.423]On the Chain, you started building links on the Chain.
[00:42.615]When the police on the horses were waitin' on demand,
[00:48.063]ridin' through the strike with the pistols in their hands,
[00:52.492]Swingin' at the skulls of many a union man,
[00:56.836]As you built one more link on the chain, on the chain,
[01:04.556]As you built one more link on the chain.
[01:12.749]Then the army of the fascists tried to put you on the run,
[01:17.797]but the army of the union, they did what could be done,
[01:22.925]Oh, the power of the factory was greater than the gun,
[01:27.077]As you built one more link on the chain, on the chain,
[01:34.925]As you built one more link on the chain.
[01:42.340]And then in 1954, decisions finally made,
[01:47.636]The black man was a-risin' fast and racin' from the shade,
[01:52.380]And your union took no stand and your union was betrayed,
[01:57.253]As you lost yourself a link on the chain, on the chain,
[02:04.997]As you lost yourslef a link on the chain.
[02:13.197]And then there came the boycotts and then the freedom rides,
[02:17.421]And forgetting what you stood for, you tried to block the tide,
[02:22.373]Oh, the automation bosses werre laughin' on the side,
[02:27.765]As they watched you lose your link on the chain, on the chain,
[02:34.941]As they watched you lose your link on the chain.
[02:42.896]You know when they block your trucks boys, by layin' on the road,
[02:47.816]All that they are doin' is all that you have showed,
[02:52.536]That you gotta strike, you gotta fight to get what you are owed,
[02:57.328]When you're building all your links on the chain, on the chain,
[03:05.000]When you're building all your links on the chain.
[03:12.880]Amd the man who tries to tell you that they'll take your job away,
[03:17.504]He's the same man who was scabbin' hard just the other day,
[03:22.248]And your union's not a union till he's thrown out of the way,
[03:27.368]And he's chokin' on your links of the chain, of the chain,
[03:34.768]And he's chokin' on your links of the chain.
[03:43.176]For now the times are tellin' you the times are rollin' on,
[03:47.528]And you're fighting for the same thing, the jobs that will be gone,
[03:52.656]Now it's only fair to ask you boys, which side are you on?
[03:58.088]As you're buildin' all your links on the chain, on the chain,
[04:05.672]As you're buildin' all your links on the chain