As we go marching, marching In the beauty of the day A million darkened kitchens A thousand mill lofts gray Are touched with all the radiance That a sudden sun discloses For the people hear us singing Bread & roses, bread & roses
As we go marching, marching We battle too for men For they are women's children And we mother them again Our lives shall not be sweetened From birth until life closes Hearts starve as well as bodies Give us bread but give us roses
As we go marching, marching We bring the greater days For the rising of the women Means the rising of the race No more the drudge and idler Ten that toil where one reposes But the sharing of lifes glories Bread & roses, bread & roses
This appeared during a strike by female workers in MA. No one is certain who wrote it. Listen to Judy Collins sing it on Youtube. Beautiful.