I learned a lot about the various flavors of a particular piece of music yesterday.
My diary from yesterday, Pulaski WI Marching Band 'Sticking to the Union' in Rose Bowl Parade, went viral like nothing I've ever written before. In the diary I posted a clip of the delightful Pulaski Red Raiders Marching Band, in which they approach the grandstand playing "On Wisconsin," then stop right in front of the grandstand and play another very familiar tune.
To me and a whole lot of other listeners, that song was "Union Maid," a classic labor song with words by Woody Guthrie.
According to Pulaski School Superintendant Mel Lightner, however, that song was the Red Wing Polka. He elaborated further in a story from the Green Bay Press Gazette, in which he says this about band director Tom Bush:
“He wasn’t aware there were any lyrics to it,” Lightner said. “We thought it was the ‘Red Wing Polka,’ and I believe that’s how it was listed on the itinerary. The reason he selected it was it was his grandmother’s favorite polka. I don’t know when they added the lyrics to it."
A comment from "Jane Doe" on Giles Goat Boy's Blue Cheddar blogpost yesterday adds an additional inside perspective:
I marched as a member of the Pulaski Red Raider marching band that day. Our band director chose the Red Wing POLKA because everyone in the small town of Pulaski knows how to polka and does it every year at Polka Days. He specifically chose for us to play the polka because it represents our town. There was absolutely no politics in our performance – we’re a high school marching band. None of us knew of any union connection whatsoever.
It looks like the Union Maid interpretation might best be viewed as an unintentional aspect of richness to the band's performance at the Rose Bowl, given the multi-layered history of the song.
As I pointed out in the update to yesterday's diary, two other songs in the band's repertoire also have that multi-layered flavor when it comes to labor history. I heard a little clip from their performance of "Shouting the Battle Cry of Freedom" -- a tune that was also used by Joe Hill in his labor anthem, "There is Power in a Union." Another Solidarity Singalong participant reported that the band also played "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," a tune with many different lyrics, including "Solidarity Forever," by Ralph Chapin.
Hearing/interpreting Union Maid being played in front of the grandstand in the Rose Bowl parade was obviously powerful for many readers of yesterday's diary. I lost count of how many commenters mentioned being moved to tears. To me that says that enthusiastic, well-performed music can have a life of its own, beyond the performers' intent!
Kudos to the Pulaski Red Raiders Marching Band for an excellent showing, and for representing Wisconsin so very well. Whatever one brings to one's personal interpretation of the musical selections, Wisconsin is proud of the performace in Pasadena, and in the end that's the important thing.
The band struggled in this difficult year to fund their trip to the Rose Bowl, an undertaking that cost in the neighborhood of $300,000. If you can spare a few dollars to help out a fantastic group of young musicians, please donate here:
Pulaski Music Boosters -- Donate Now!