Eddie Cantor introduced this song to the world in
Flo Ziegfeld's
1928 show,
Whoopee!, thanks to the songwriting team of
Gus Kahn (
lyrics) and
Walter Donaldson (tune). Now a popular standard, few people know the intro:
Everytime I hear that marchin Lohengrin
I am always all the outside lookin' in
Maybe that is why I see the funny side
When I see somebody's brother take a bride
Weddings make a lot of people sad
But if you'd not the one, they're not so bad!
According to his son, Donald, the song was one of two personal favorites of the thousands Kahn wrote (the other being Love Me or Leave Me from the same show).
Here's a folk version adapted for the labor movement, from the magazine, Talking Union:
Another night, another day
Of livin' tight, from pay to pay
And here's the reason my life ain't easin'
Ain't got a union.
I go to work when work is there
I never shirk, I do my share
It doesn't matter, my wallet's flatter
Without a union.
break: Sometimes I sit and daydream,
Thinkin' how things could be,
Silly to some it may seem
I'd like seniority, and
Grievance procedure, when things ain't fair
Vacation leisure, without a care
Benefit fringes, I know it hinges
On bein' union.
Sisters and brothers, hear what I say
We need each other, there's just one way
We've got to realize, we've got to organize
Into a union.