New Haven Pie
Not such a long time ago
I can still remember
When the unions, they first made me smile
And I learned that if he had the chance
Slick Rick would screw them in a flash
And that left me conflicted for a while
But if March snowstorms made me shiver
Levin's letters made me quiver
Flat lies on the doorstep
They made me take one more step
I know that there were times I cried
And days I really had to try
But Meg's words touched me deep inside
The day Yale's honor died
So... Bye, bye to this Rick Levin guy
He's a craven in new Haven, and nobody will cry
And the Federation will raise their glasses up high
Singing "For the Social Contract we'll strive!
To make New Haven come alive!"
The Daily wrote the book on strikes
Chased down UOCers on their bikes
To find out what they thought we'd know
Now do you believe in recognition?
Will you raise a sign, sign our petition?
And will you teach Woodbridge not to act so slow?
And we all know I love leftist guys
Whether organizers or in PR guise
'Cause they do their jobs so well
I love helping them give Levin hell
I was a lonely freshman liberal
Prime UOC organizing material
And Zach helped show me what was real
The day Yale's honor died
I started singing... Bye, bye to ONHSA's clever disguise
There are problems in New Haven and I want to know why
And the good old boys can stop telling me their lies
This'll be the day that they die
And for the real story I'll try
Now for decades Yale's been in a snit
Organized working people give them fits
But that's not how it used to be
When kids from Hillhouse went to school here
And Bulldog victories raised townie cheers
(All this came long 'fore you and me)
But while Yale improved itself all around
Manufacturing left this town
Redevelopment failed
And town-gown relations ailed
And while Rae wrote his book called City
Life for his subjects wasn't pretty
And he must not have felt so witty
The day Yale's honor died
We were singing...
Why, why, can't our school even try?
This is lame, I'm quite ashmed, some days it just makes me cry
When pensions and benefits are only pie in the sky
Why do they even bother with lies?
Why do they even bother with lies?
Sit-down protests in the August swelter
The police made arrests to give freshmen shelter
The riot cops were moving fast
While we camped out on the grass
Betty T. tried to sneak on past
And to keep us on the sidelines to the last
And all the plans we'd made since June
Got carried out to chants (off-tune)
We were ready to advance
But we never got the chance
'Cause though they tried to deal and wield
By September Yale just had to yield
Do you recall what we concealed?
The day Yale's honor died
We started singing...
My, my, wasn't that a good try
When labor joins with neighbors then the management cries
And 'cause John Wilhelm helped us organize
Now GESO'll be recognized
And the hospital prioritized
And we got together in one place
To discuss wages, gender, free speech and race
After three days we started again
Marissa and Helena wrote some scripts
Noah and Josh called the press real quick
'Cause the Register isn't always labor's friend
And though Bruce tried to be quite sage
His promises hit the front page
No more equivocating
Their racist policies got done in
And as we celebrated that fight
A victory for what was right
I saw Levin cowering with fright
The day Yale's honor died
He was moaning why, why, am I this town's fall guy?
We're good neighbors, do some favors (at least sometimes we try)
So we're good old boys, why did their goodwill run dry?
Now out of Tweed their airplanes can fly! (Even if in poverty workers
die...)
I met a guy who did some press
All autumn long he made me guess
Although he never turned away
I went down to the office doors
Where I'd found justice, months before
And they said there that we wouldn't take it any more...
And in the streets, the workers chanted
Levin issued statements, then recanted
And with the contracts settled
Bank hearings we bedeviled
And the organizer I admired most, Meg Robertson, got a new post
She and her partner hit the coast
After Yale's honor died
I started singing... Bye, bye, now I'm not going to cry
We've got battles, can't get rattled, and we've tactics to try
And thanks to your committment, now I can organize
Fight for justice 'til the day that I die!
"New Haven Pie" was probably the best of the song rewrites we did, though "Forgot about Pay," "Strike Strike Baby," and Josh's take on Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time" were all pretty enjoyable. I especially love the line about the YDN chasing us down on bikes. That was hilarious. I conclude with "Sucker PhDs," which was my best contribution. I have redacted a couple names and changed a few particularly bad lines around, but left most of them intact.
RUN-UOC is BACK.
"Sucker Ph.Ds"
To the tune of Sucker MCs, from the album "RUN-DMC"
[RUN: Revolutionary Underground Network]
Two years ago
some friends of mine
asked me to stand up and organize
cause it is time to make a better day
yale's fascism is not ok
so we founded the UOC
and fought for justice in our city
Yale's gentrification is totally wack
Of light and truth there's a serious lack
they bled the workers down to the bone
And their bank will not give anybody a loan
Yale's money is its golden calf, workers starve, Yalecorp laughs
Champagne caviar, and bubble bath
That's the "life" that they lead
And those greedy CEOs are who they please
But they better move back cause we're on attack
Because there's nothin in the world, that could ever hold us back
I cold chill at the strike tent in a pissed off stance
And when I march through the streets I just wanna dance
Take off kid gloves, we attack from above
You capitalist pigs don't know the meaning of love
We rock this city from Morris Cove to The Hill
And [organize] the hospital with [EDITED]
Levin's cruisin for a bruisin',; he best move or step aside
I cannot even count all the many ways they lied
can't wait to see the looks on their faces
When they hear bout the class action suit cases
well it's been [five] years since i got in this fight
And all you sucker PhDs, you just ain't right
Because you're causin' all this strife, you're cheating us of life
You strut around town where such poverty is rife
showin off what you have, actin' like a fool
And everybody knows what things you do
Yeah you oppress me, and it ain't fun
You don't even care, like Linda MaSON!
We're all up in your face with steel toed boot and lace
We're buildin 'our committee put a movement on your case
You live Uptown in your cap and your gown
But we're cellular like Susan Crown!
You better start running now just as fast as you can
Get out of New Haven, take Mike Morand
You are out of time, your corporate crime
is passe like [Bob Culver] or like Meghan Clyne
Exploit black neighborhoods, and the brown
Try to deceive us but your scheme is found
Around your finger you think we're so tightly wound
You're just a sucker Ph.D you fascist clown
So UOC and if you're ready
The people rockin steady
Drive through Yale's lies like Mario Andretti! (Respect to Q-Tip)
[U.O.C.]We're U.O.C. and you know that we
Do go to Yale University
And while organizin' we acquired the knowledge
One usually cannot receive in college
they have sinned, stole workers means
But we'll dethrone these capitalist fiends
They take their fill, rob us through guile
but they can't stop us - we're versatile
Behind closed doors you call us retards
But we're more like the parisian communards
This town you exploit is our home
You won't find that in any Doug Rae tome
We are sticking in this fight
So you had better start doing what's right
or come time, you'll throw a fit
when we bury you up to you neck in Shhhhhhh
You will quake when you hear our refrain
you'll jump around just like HOUSE of PAIN
[You think that you're a classes shop]
Your union busting ways have got to stop
Cause you have lost any semblance of sense
And things are about to get real intense.
You just made my day by posting this. Thanks! We should totally do this again some time. I sort of want to write nasty songs about the Aldermanic elections.
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