Women's Anti-Conscription Songs [1916]
WOMEN'S ANTI-CONSCRIPTION COMMITTEE. |
I DIDN'T RAISE MY SON TO BE A SOLDIER. Once when a mother was asked would she send Her darling boy to fight, She just answered "NO" And I think you'll admit she was right. CHORUS- I did'nt raise my son to he a soldier, I brought him up to be my pride and joy: Who dares to put a musket on his shoulder To kill some some other mother's darling boy? The nations ought to arbitrate their quarrels, It's time to put the sword and gun away, There'd be no war to-day if mothers all would say I didn't raise my son to be a soldier. All men are brothers, our country, the world; The glories of war are a lie: If they ask us why We'll just tell them that mother's reply. --------------- TOILERS OF THE NATIONS. Tune- "St. Gertrude" (Arthur Sullivan.) Toilers of the nations, Thinkers of the time, Sound the note of battle, Loud thro' every clime. March ye 'gainst the tyrants, Heedless of their steel; Be a band of brothers, Speed the common weal! CHORUS-- Onward! friends of freedom, Onward! for the strife, Each for all we struggle, One in death and life. Seamstress in the hovel, Women of the mill, Low indeed ye grovel, Tame ye are and still. Come like the War-maidens, Beauteous in your might; Sing ye songs of valour. Nerve us for the fight! Toil we now no longer For another's gain, While our wives and children Pine in want and pain: Slaves we've been and cowards; But the night is o'er- Up then with the morning, Weep and sigh no more. Come, then, worn and weary, Come, then, stout and brave, Join this noble army, Sworn our land to save |
From the power of tyrants, From the curse of greed: Down with the Destroyer! Crush the Serpent's seed! 3. AUSTRALIAN HYMN OF FREEDOM. Tune-"Australia will be There." Arouse ye mothers of the free, Stand loyal to your trust, Lest all that stands for liberty Be ground into the dust; And the future of this country That should be great and grand, Shall be burdened with the sorrow Caused by a tyrant band. CHORUS Mothers, wives and sisters of Australians, Would ye have your kinsmen bond or free? Vote No! Preserve their liberty, For "Yes" would mean our slavery, And all the little children Would future conscripts be- Shall we permit this passively? Vote No! No! No! No! Australia will be free, Austtalia will be free. Now raise the slogan valiantly, And all assist to see That where men fought as free men Still free men they shall be; And the struggles of your fathers Shall not have been in vain. Let us preserve our freedom Or Australia's honor stain. S. Lewis, 272 Bourke St., Melb. --------------- AUSTRALIAN WOMEN'S PEACE ARMY 4. WOMEN'S NO-CONSCRIPTION SONG. Every woman has got to have a say Before they can send our men away; So I want you all to know why the women will say NO ! To Mr. Hughes on Referendum Day. CHORUS-- For Conscripts our men shall never be, We're going to defend their liberty; And I want you all to know That my vote will be a NO ! Mr. Hughes can't made a willing tool of me, of me, of me, Mr. Hughes can't make a willing tool of me. Messrs. Hughes, Pearce, Irvine, Cook & Co. Would liberty and conscience send below, And our wages may come down with labor black or brown So it's up to every woman to say NO. |
When Mr. Hughes to England said good-bye The Duchesses and Dukes began to cry But that's nothing to the woe that they'll feel when we say NO To Mr. Hughes on Referendum Day. To the soldier I would say, Don't let them filch your civil rights away Make sure before you roam of your enemy at home By voting NO on Referendum Day. Working women to your cause be true Remember what your men would have you do. Don't forget the daily press is whining for a Yes Vote NO and down the powers opposed to you. And now I've just a final word I'll say We have no right to vote men's lives away, Oh mothers, sisters, wives, ye who travail for men's lives, Think well before you vote those lives away. R.H.L. --------------- 5 GOD SAVE THE PEOPLE: Tune--"Commonwealth" (Josiah Booth.) When wilt thou save the people? O God of mercy, when? Not kings and lords, but nations! Not thrones and crowns, but men! Flowers of Thy heart, O God are they! Let them not pass, like weeds, away Their heritage a sunless day! God save the people ! Shall crime bring crime for ever, Strength aiding still the strong? Is it Thy will, O Father, That man shall toil for wrong? 'No' say Thy mountains; 'No,' Thy skies; 'Man's clouded sun shall brightly rise, And songs ascend instead of sighs !' God save the people! When wilt Thou save the people, O God of mercy, when? The people, Lord, the people ! Not thrones and crowns, but men! God save the people! thine they are, Thy children as Thy angels fare ; From vice, oppression, and despair ! God save the people !  Fraser and Jenkinson. Print. 343-5 Queen St., Melb. |
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Authorised by MRS. BREMNER and MISS HILDA MOODY,
215 Latrobe Street, Melbourne. Notes Women in the Victorian Socialist Party (VSP) organised the Labor Women's Anti-Conscription Committee, which unified left-wing women against conscription. Its members conducted house-to-house visits, organised the distribution of anti-conscription literature, arranged cottage meetings and rallies and addressed factory workers during their lunch hour. Open-air gatherings were held throughout Collingwood and Prahran. Women in the the (VSP) organised the Labor Women's Anti-Conscription Committee, which unified left-wing women against conscription. Its members conducted house-to-house visits, organised the distribution of anti-conscription literature, arranged cottage meetings and rallies and addressed factory workers during their lunch hour. Open-air gatherings were held throughout Collingwood and Prahran ... VSP women were directly involved, and Elizabeth Wallace was elected secretary. These women joined forces with Labor Party members Muriel Heagney, Doris Blackburn, Bella Lavender and Mary Killury. Throughout 1916, the committee organised a series of successful public meetings and rallies for women only. In the first week of October, three separate meetings were held on the one night, at the Women's Political Association, Socialist Hall and Guild Hall, where women from the WPA and VSP shared the platform. The Socialist recorded that by 7.30 pm the Guild Hall was "rammed, jammed, crammed, and a few minutes afterwards the two halls were also packed to the doors".On 21 October 1916, a Women's No Conscription Demonstration took place in which socialists Baines, Bremner, Wallace, Daley, Hickey, Lewis and Webb combined with Women's Political Association members Goldstein, John, Fullerton, Gardiner, Pankhurst and Labor Party activists Killury and Lavender to lead a procession of 10 000 women from the Guild Hall in Swanston Street to the Yarra Bank, where the crowd had swelled to 50 000. In a letter to Ethel Berringer, F J Riley described the scene: "The women's demonstration ... was a gigantic success; in fact ... we expected a procession, but we never expected to see the crowd of women who marched. The procession was over a mile long, extending from the Guild Hall right to the road that led to the Yarra Bank ... During the afternoon, from about six platforms speeches were delivered, all of which were listened to attentively ... " |