I met Utah many times when I was a stage manager at the Winnnipeg and
Vancouver Folk Festivals and attended a number of his other concerts in
Winnipeg where he was a cultural feature of the left and labour musical
scene. I am saddened by his loss though we all knew that he was fighting
a losing battle with congestive heart failure for some time. He did not
go, as Dylan Thomas would rail against, "gently into the night." We
still have his records (yes even vinyl) which we enjoy not
infrequently. However, just a note. Joe Hill was not Utah's song
though he sang it often and to great effect. It was written (the
poetry) by Alfred Hayes and scored for music by Earl Robinson in the
1930s. I think the first version I heard of it was the legendary
recording by Paul Robson recorded, I would guess, some time in the late
1940s at the beginning of the McCarthy debacle. In any case, as an
erstwhile left folksinger in the 1960s, I sang it many times even before
I had heard of Utah. It retains its power and is a mainstay of the
Winnipeg Labour Choir which I sang with up until I retired in 2003
though the choir goes resolutely on. They will be most saddened by the
loss of Utah. "Don't mourn, Organize!"
Paul Phillips
Bill Quimby wrote:
What a loss! It is a shame that Utah, famous as he was in some circles,
never was acknowledged as a "national treasure".
I pull his Joe Hill out whenever I am down about the state of the world.
- Bill
I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night,
alive as you and me.
Says I "But Joe, you're ten years dead"
"I never died" said he,
"I never died" said he.
"The Copper Bosses killed you Joe,
they shot you Joe" says I.
"Takes more than guns to kill a man"
Says Joe "I didn't die"
Says Joe "I didn't die"
"In Salt Lake City, Joe," says I,
Him standing by my bed,
"They framed you on a murder charge,"
Says Joe, "But I ain't dead,"
Says Joe, "But I ain't dead."
And standing there as big as life
and smiling with his eyes.
Says Joe "What they can never kill
went on to organize,
went on to organize"
From San Diego up to Maine,
in every mine and mill,
Where working men defend their rights,
it's there you find Joe Hill,
it's there you find Joe Hill!
I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night,
alive as you and me.
Says I "But Joe, you're ten years dead"
"I never died" said he,
"I never died" said he
Dan Scanlan wrote:
Friends,
Bruce "Utah" Phillips, master story teller, folk singer, humorist,
Wobbly and peace activist, and friend of the Ukulele Strum Bums died
in his sleep last night. He will be sorely missed.
Dan Scanlan
http://www.coolhanduke.com
http://www.sonicbids.com/epk/epk.asp?epk_id=62070
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--
Paul Phillips Professor Emertus, Economics University of Manitoba Home
and Office: 3806 - 36A st., Vernon BC, Canada. ViT 6E9 tel: 1 (250)
558-0830 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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