Sadly I can’t be there, but today there is a rally in Shrewsbury to demand justice for the trades unionists and building workers attacked by the State in the 70s.

Two were jailed, Dessie Warren and Ricky Tomlinson. The rally is an attempt to clear their names, and get a pardon.

I wrote the song My Name Is Dessie Warren before last year’s rally, where I played it in public for the first time.

You can hear the song, and read more about what happened by clicking here.

I hope the day goes well and justice moves ever closer.

The song I wrote for the Shrewsbury Pickets Justice Campaign, My Name Is Dessie Warren, has been featured on the Union Songs website.

Unionsong.com is an influential collection of rebel songs, songs of freedom, work songs, songs of dissent, protest songs, liberation songs and labour songs.

It documents the songs and poems made in the process of struggling for justice, and now has an impressive collection of 680 works by 265 writers.

I am proud to be one of them, and particularly proud that the song spreading Dessie Warren’s story is the one they chose to feature.

You can visit the My Name Is Dessie Warren page of unionsong.com, and listen to the song by clicking on the play button below.

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For more information on the Shrewsbury Pickets Justice Campaign, please follow this link.

As promised here is the recorded version of My Name Is Dessie Warren.

Click the play button to listen.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

To find out more about the Shrewsbury Justice Campaign simply follow this link.

Lyrics

Up and down the nation he gave the workers strength and courage
Up and down the nation he taught us to prevail
He fought for safer building sites he argued for a pound an hour
He was so successful that they put him in the jail

Some workers leaders they are sent to royal garden parties
Some workers leaders they are sent to the house of lords
Some workers leaders they are sent to jail they’re sent to prison
Which ones sold you down the river? Which ones fought your cause?

The guard said what’s your number boy?
He said my name is Dessie Warren
The guard said that’s your name you fool
Your number’s what I need
And he said
My name is Dessie Warren
Do you hear my name is Dessie Warren
The number it belongs to you
I’m only saying my name

The bosses and the Tory Party plotted to imprison Dessie
Labour came to power but still Dessie was not free
So don’t just point the finger at the ones who framed him in the first place
Also at the scoundrels who clung on to the key

The guard said what’s your number boy?
He said my name is Dessie Warren
The guard said that’s your name you fool
Your number’s what I need
And he said
My name is Dessie Warren
Do you hear me my name is Dessie Warren
The number it belongs to you
I’m only saying my name

Dessie Warren he refused to take the label of a criminal
They branded him awkward to be broken and denied
The drugged him and infected him with chemicals and tranquilisers
The bastards went and killed him cos he dared to take our side

The guard said what’s your number boy?
He said my name is Dessie Warren
The guard said that’s your name you fool
Your number’s what I need
And he said
My name is Dessie Warren
Do you hear me my name is Dessie Warren
The number it belongs to you
I’m only saying my name

I’ve been in the studio this week doing some recording for the Shrewsbury Justice Campaign.

I wrote a song about Dessie Warren to perform at a recent rally. It went down so well that I promised to do a proper recorded version of it, rather than the YouTube versions I had.

I’ll be granting the campaign the right to use the song free of charge. Songs are such a portable way to pass on a message, so hopefully Dessie’s story will be spread to those who don’t currently know it.

The final version should be mailed to me this week. Once it is I’ll be passing it on to the campaign and will also let you hear it here too.

Watch this space.

Yesterday I blogged my song for Des Warren, jailed simply for being a trade unionist in the 1970s.

Also jailed with him was TV actor Ricky Tomlinson.

Ricky spoke at the rally on Saturday about his experiences. It’s well worth a watch.