The Big Red Songbook

by Anne Feeney

The 2007 publication of The Big Red Songbook is long overdue.  Folklorist Archie Green has been in possession of 29 editions of the legendary Little Red Songbook of the IWW since Wobbly folklorist John Neuhaus entrusted them to him in 1958.  Published between 1909 and 1956, the IWW songbooks in the Neuhaus collection vividly embody the humor, philosophy and history of the working class.  Millions of copies of these little songbooks have been sold, giving the IWW its well-deserved reputation as a “singing union.”  For those of you saying “IWWWhat?” — here’s a little history….