Part of the Union
| "Part of the Union" | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||||||||
| Single by Strawbs | ||||||||||
| from the album Bursting at the Seams | ||||||||||
| B-side | "Will you Go" | |||||||||
| Released | January 1973 | |||||||||
| Format | 7" | |||||||||
| Genre | Progressive folk, folk rock | |||||||||
| Label | A&M | |||||||||
| Writer(s) | Richard Hudson, John Ford | |||||||||
| Producer(s) | Strawbs | |||||||||
| Strawbs singles chronology | ||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
"Part of the Union" is a song by English band Strawbs featured on their 1973 album Bursting at the Seams and was the band's most successful single, peaking at number 2 in the UK Singles Chart. It was believed that the song was intended to ridicule the powerful British trades unions of the time, the song (especially its chorus "You don't get me I'm part of the Union") quickly became popular as an unofficial anthem of the trades union movement. Subsequently, however, the Strawbs have stated that the song was written with genuine celebratory intent.
The writing credits are given to Richard Hudson and John Ford, but the song may be an adaptation of the Woody Guthrie/Almanac Singers' song "Union Maid". The lyrical resemblance is striking although it is set to different music.
The song was included on the album Bursting at the Seams but is not considered typical of the songs on that album. Indeed, the track was originally recorded without a contribution by band leader Dave Cousins and was to be released under the name of "The Brothers". It demonstrates the different, more commercial direction the writing partnership of Hudson and Ford was taking within the band.
The song resurfaced on the UK television advertisement for insurance company Norwich Union in 1998. The song is also currently being played in the stadium at the conclusion of Major League Soccer's Philadelphia Union games.
The B-side track "Will You Go" is an arrangement of the Irish folk song "Wild Mountain Thyme" written by Belfast musician Francis McPeake, dating back to the repertoire of The Strawberry Hill Boys (the original name of Strawbs)
...
Wikipedia