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The meaning of the lyrics of the song "1913 Massacre" by the artist "Woody Guthrie"

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In "1913 Massacre," Woody Guthrie recounts the real-life tragedy that struck Calumet, Michigan, on Christmas Eve. The lyrics juxtapose the joy of the holiday with the brutality inflicted upon the miners and their families.

Guthrie invites the listener to witness the events, starting with the festive atmosphere of the Christmas party at the "Italian Hall." We see people dancing, hear laughter and singing, and feel the Christmas spirit. We meet the miners, grateful for the opportunity to spend time with their families despite their dangerous and poorly paid jobs.

This idyllic scene is shattered by the arrival of thugs hired by the copper mine owners. A false cry of "Fire!" triggers panic and a stampede. Trapped inside the locked hall, people are crushed and suffocated. The tragedy claims the lives of 73 people, many of them children.

Guthrie doesn't shy away from the horror, painting a stark contrast between the merriment of the celebration and the grief of the families who lost loved ones. The song is more than just a recounting of a tragic event; it's an indictment of the greed and heartlessness of the mine owners who valued profit over human life.

Take a trip with me in 1913

To Calumet, Michigan, in the copper country

I'll take you to a place called Italian Hall

And the miners are having their big Christmas Ball

I'll take you in a door and up a high stairs

Singing and dancing is heard everywhere

I'll let you shake hands with the people you see

And watch the kids dance round that big Christmas tree

There's talking and laughing and songs in the air

And the spirit of Christmas is there everywhere

Before you know it, you're friends with us all

And you're dancing around and around in the hall

You ask about work and you ask about pay

They'll tell you that they make less than a dollar a day

Working the copper claims, risking their lives

So it's fun to spend Christmas with children and wives

Hey, little girl sits down by the Christmas tree lights

To play the piano, so you gotta keep quiet

To hear all this fun you would not realize

That the copper boss thug men are milling outside

The copper boss thugs stuck their heads in the door

One of them yelled and he screamed, "There's a fire"

A lady, she hollered, "There's no such a thing

Keep on with your party, there's no such a thing"

A few people rushed and it's only a few

"It's just the thugs and the scabs fooling you"

A man grabbed his daughter and he carried her down

But the thugs held the door and he could not get out

And then others followed, a hundred or more

But most everybody remained on the floor

The gun thugs they laughed at their murderous joke

And the children were smothered on the stairs by the door

Such a terrible sight I never did see

We carried our children back up to their tree

The scabs outside still laughed at their spree

And the children that died there were seventy three

The piano played a slow funeral tune

And the town was lit up by a cold Christmas moon

The parents they cried and the miners they moaned

"See what your greed for money has done"

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