October 1, 2010 by alunparry

Song: Go To Work On Monday

This song isn’t mine but I love it and so sung it last night at the Woody Guthrie Folk Club that I run.

I learned the song from listening to the wonderful Roy Bailey, but it was written by a tremendous songwriter named Si Kahn.

It was written for a 28 year old man, Louis Harrel, who was forced into retirement through ill health, caused by working in the cotton industry.

This happened in 1976. He contracted what is known as “brown lung”, an industrial illness that the bosses knew about back in the 30’s.

It is worth noting that while this form of cotton processing no longer happens in the USA, it is now common in the developing world.

alun parry