 Bread and Roses
As we go marching, marching
In the beauty of the day,
A million darkened kitchens,
A thousand mill lofts gray,
Are touched by all the radiance
That a sudden sun discloses,
For the people hear us singing:
"Bread and Roses! Bread and 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 sweated
From birth until life closes;
Hearts starve as well as bodies:
Give us bread, but give us roses!
As we go marching, marching,
Unnumbered women dead
Go crying through our singing,
Their ancient cry for bread.
Small art and love and beauty
Their drudging spirits knew.
Yes, it is bread we fight for,
But we fight for roses too!
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 idleness
That toil where one reposes,
But a sharing of life's glories:
Bread and Roses! Bread and Roses!
Our lives shall not be sweated
From birth until life closes,
Hearts starve as well as bodies;
Bread and Roses! Bread and Roses!
James Oppenheimer wrote the song ‘Bread & Roses’ for striking textile workers in
Lawrence, Massachusetts, in 1912. He took the title from the banners of strikers, who demanded not just decent treatment work, but the right to dignity and a better quality of life.
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