In a long over due reversal of rolls Malcolm has called me to task over the shameful neglect in marking the passing of Utah Phillips. Part of the reason I've neglected this topic was that while I had a good deal of respect for Utah and his music over the years my personal interactions with him were a subtext for other events and happenings of much greater personal relevance than a folk concert. And so when I read of his passing I noted that he got to go in his sleep, wished him well on his voyage to wherever we'll all end up someday and went on my merry way.

But respect paid where respect is due. I think it is impossible to separate the man and his music from his beliefs since that is what fueled him. As Malcolm demonstrated for us there are no shortages of those willing willing to sing the praises of the wobblies. More like to lay claim to their legacy as a member in the broad family of progressive forces in American history. But Utah was different, he lived it. During periods when it certainly wasn't popular and seemed to weather well the times during which it was in vogue once again. Certainly I would recommend We Have Fed You All A Thousand Years, and Rebel Voices as a great starting point and working back to some of his deeper cuts, such as the albums Starlight on the Rails: A Songbook and Good Though!

To explain it in his own words,

"A lot of us who sing labor songs have worked to lift them out of the past and put them to work where they belong: in the union hall, on the picket line, and as part of growing up, thinking and living union"

That last line of "thinking and living union" is one we would all do well to remember. Unionism does not stop when we leave work, nor is it expressed once every couple of years when we inevitably vote Democrat. It is something which we must nurture and develop in every sphere in our lives.