Saturday Sonata with Anne Feeney

Howdy folks, LT here from A Long Tough Blog. My heartfelt thanks to The Poetryman for the invitation to post here on The Peace Tree.

For the first Saturday Sonata, please welcome unionmaid, hellraiser, and labor singer, Anne Feeney.

Since the 1980s Anne's been hopping from concert hall to festival to factory to dock to living room and more, singing for the workers and others oppressed and doing it with the verve and chutzpah of a barroom brawler - and with a whole lot of grace. In her own words:

The Vietnam war and the Civil Rights Movement shaped my conscience and consciousness. I worked for a dozen years or so as a trial attorney, and served as President of the Pittsburgh Musicians' Union. These days I am living my dream. I'm on the road 200+ days a year... all over the US and Canada, and more recently, Sweden and Denmark. It's my privilege to spend most of my waking hours with people who are trying to make a difference in this world... people on strike, or in a union or community organizing drive, or defending women's rights, the environment, human rights ... working to end poverty and racism ... teaching peace.

Anne's latest masterpiece: Dump the Bosses off your Back.

Incredibly diverse musical styles for fans of left-leaning political music - jump, swing, blues, punk, corrido, gospel, bluegrass, dixieland - at least 15 ways to dump the bosses off your back.

Commander Cody and The Austin Lounge Lizards are just a couple of the guests on this fine album, and it has six new originals from Anne mixed with old labor classics and new songs from her song writing friends. You can go over there and give a listen, and if you're so inclined you can add a tune or two to your music collection.

One of my darker favorites off the new CD:

Goonies

I guess you been around since the dawn of time - you damn Goonies
Did you ooze right out of the primordial slime? - you Goonies
You made it with opossums, and some robbed graves
You slept with your sisters and sold 'em for slaves
You Goonies
Damn Goonies

When workers are tossed out in the street - you'll find Goonies
You come swarming like maggots on putrid meat - Goonies
Kin to jackals, hyenas, leeches and skunks
Go back to dog kicking, wife beating and rolling drunks
Wackenhut, Pinkerton, thugs and punks
Goonies

No brain, no heart, no balls, no spine
Get your rocks off hassling a picket line
You got them long lens cameras, and great big sticks
You don't need Viagra cuz ya got no girlfriends

Someday you'll have a special place in hell - Goonies
Cuz you do the devil's work so well - Goonies
Giving hardworking people the royal screw
Well your snot-nosed kids must be ashamed of you
Why don't you ask yourselves - What would Judas do? - Goonies
Why don't you ask yourselves - What would Judas do? - Goonies

...that tree over there looks sturdy enough...you can drop your thirty pieces of silver at the strike kitchen...

And for a final treat, Anne performing her now classic "Have You Been to Jail for Justice?"

Have You Been to Jail for Justice (Hi Dens)


Anne's MySpace page

Anne's touring schedule

And please have a gander at the extraordinary work of Anne's sweetheart of a husband, Swedish political artist, Julie Leonardsson.

And for an even more final treat: Go to Ireland with Anne! (Really.)

Peace