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43-456: " The Red Flag " ( Roud V45381 ) is a socialist song, emphasising the sacrifices and solidarity of the international labour movement . It is the anthem of the British Labour Party , the Northern Irish Social Democratic and Labour Party and the Irish Labour Party . It was formerly used by the New Zealand Labour Party until the late 1940s. The song is traditionally sung at the close of each party's national conference. Translated versions of

86-870: A motion of no confidence brought down the Labour Government. It was sung again in Parliament in February 2006 to mark the centenary of the Labour Party's founding. It was sung again in the House of Commons in September 2019 to protest the prorogation of parliament . During the Tony Blair government it was claimed the leadership sought to downplay its role, however, it is often sung at the end of party conferences alongside Jerusalem . Following

129-428: A Year" or "The People's Flag Is Palest Pink." It is intended to satirise the perceived lack of socialist principles in the Labour Party. The initial parody was widely known in the 1960s, sometimes sung during late night parties at student conferences. It was revived in the early 2000s in response to the centrist reforms associated with Tony Blair. A version which began "The people's flag is palest pink, mum washed it in

172-515: A folksong collection made by Helmut Schaffrath and now incorporating Classical themes, themes from a number of Baroque composers, and Renaissance themes. It is proposed to include Indigenous American songs, as transcribed around the years 1900 to 1920 by Natalie Curtis . The Folk Song Index is a collaborative project between the Oberlin College Library and the folk music journal Sing Out! . It indexes traditional folk songs of

215-527: A number to each song, including all variants (now known as the "Roud number") to overcome the problem of songs in which even the titles were not consistent across versions. The system initially used 3x5-inch filing cards in shoeboxes. In 1993, Roud implemented his record system on a computer database , which he continues to expand and maintain and which is now hosted on the website of the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library . In

258-538: A published volume in the EFDSS archive. A related index, the Roud Broadside Index, includes references to songs which appeared on broadsides and other cheap print publications, up to about 1920. In addition, there are many entries for music hall songs, pre- World War II radio performers' song folios, sheet music, etc. The index may be searched by title, first line etc. and the result includes details of

301-418: Is a similar index of almost 218,000 Latvian folksong texts, created by Latvian scholar Krišjānis Barons at the end 19th century and beginning of the 20th century. The Essen folk song database is another collection that includes songs from non-English-speaking countries, particularly Germany and China. It is a collaboration between groups at Stanford University and Ohio State University , stemming from

344-679: Is about a Marxist revolutionary living in Tooting, London. Episode 3, in season 4 of the TV show The Boys (TV series) is titled "We'll Keep The Red Flag Flying Here", a reference to the final lyric of the chorus of "The Red Flag". Roud Folk Song Index The primary function of the Roud Folk Song Index is as a research aid correlating versions of traditional English-language folk song lyrics independently documented over past centuries by many different collectors across (especially)

387-544: Is about time that every rebel wakes up to the fact that "the people" and the workingclass [ sic ] have nothing in common. Let us sing after this " The Workers' flag is deepest red " and to hell with "the people." The song spread throughout the globe spurred on by the Workers Movement and their quest for a better life, reaching many a remote country. For example, "The Red Flag” was played by the Runanga Band at

430-460: Is also sung regularly by supporters of Sunderland AFC : Flying high up in the sky, We'll keep the red flag flying high, Wherever you go you're sure to know, We'll keep the red flag flying high. Supporters of Bristol City F.C. (also known as ciderheads ) sing the same version with a third line of "Ciderheads until we die". AFC Bournemouth fans sing the third line as " Dean Court to Wembley ", and Wrexham A.F.C. supporters end with: On

473-412: Is deepest red, And oft it's killed our routers dead. But ere the bugs grew ten days old, The patches fixed the broken code. So raise the open standard high Within its codes we'll live or die Though cowards flinch and Bill Gates sneers We'll keep the net flag flying here. The 2001 Hong Kong film Running Out of Time 2 ends with "The Red Flag" at a Christmas party, when it is revealed that

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516-524: Is known as "The Foreman's Job", and this is sometimes considered a rugby song. This has many variants but usually begins: The working class can kiss my arse I got the foreman's job at last. You can tell old Joe I'm off the dole He can stick his Red Flag up his 'ole! This parody, reflecting the humorously perceived position of the Labour Party in the 2020s, is by Jeremy Humphries. For workers we no longer fight – Rebranded now, we're Tory-lite. Keir Hardie, well, he's real old hat – Keir Starmer now

559-462: Is reflected in his last wish for "The Red Flag” to be played at his burial. In 1982 two very different versions of the song were issued, Shakin Stevens recorded a rock & roll cover of the song known as "Red Flag Rock", while ex- Soft Machine singer and drummer Robert Wyatt included a version on his collection of socialist and resistance songs "Nothing Can Stop Us". "The Red Flag" has been

602-514: Is where it's at. Concern for you has mostly gone, Unless you live in Islington. We care not for the working class, So stick the red flag up your arse. A version of "The Red Flag" with similar lyrics entitled "We'll Never Die" is the official anthem of Manchester United F.C. : We’ll never die, we’ll never die We’ll never die, we’ll never die We’ll keep the red flag flying high ' Cos Man United never die A similar football chant

645-470: The 1950s, at the end of public meetings with management, dockers filling the main floor of the hall sang "The Red Flag" while superintendents and managers (usually segregated in the gallery) simultaneously sang "God Save the Queen". "The Red Flag" was sung by Labour MPs on 27 May 1976, allegedly prompting Michael Heseltine to swing the mace above his head. It was also sung on the evening of 28 March 1979 when

688-625: The 1950s. The index was compiled and is maintained by Steve Roud , formerly the Local Studies Librarian in the London Borough of Croydon . He was also Honorary Librarian of the Folklore Society . He began it in around 1970 as a personal project, listing the source singer (if known), their locality, the date of noting the song, the publisher (book or recorded source), plus other fields, and crucially assigning

731-592: The 2015 election of veteran socialist Jeremy Corbyn as Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition , "The Red Flag" was sung as he and his supporters celebrated in The Sanctuary, a public house in London. The People's Flag is deepest red, It shrouded oft our martyred dead, And ere their limbs grew stiff and cold, Their hearts' blood dyed its every fold. Chorus: Then raise

774-530: The British Labour Party's official anthem from its founding; its annual party conference closes with the song. "The Red Flag" was first sung in the House of Commons on 1 August 1945, when Parliament convened after Clement Attlee's Labour defeat of Winston Churchill 's Conservatives. Dockers in London were regarded as militant socialists ever since their strike in 1889 for the "dockers' tanner." In

817-868: The Italian labour movement has the same title (though in Italian): " Bandiera Rossa ", but different lyrics and tune, as does the French song "Le drapeau rouge", known in English as " The Standard of Revolt ". The melody is used in Harold Baum's "The Michaelis Anthem" in The Biochemists' Songbook . "The Red Flag" was parodied by singer-songwriter Leon Rosselson as the "Battle Hymn of the New Socialist Party," also known as "The Red Flag Once

860-628: The Labour movement's original values: Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree How bent your branches seem to be Nineteen twenty-one and all's well Another fifteen years and we'll be laughing in hell One bullet straight through the heart Rubens caught a ricochet, Durer's lady cried today Cracked old masters up against the wall Blue-faced Wendy Woolworth--she's seen it all Housepainter, housepainter Hanging your swastika wallpaper Rows of pretty cabbageheads to gobble up your words Laughing along to your blah, blah, blah A parody of unknown origin

903-632: The Roud Folk Song Index shows 22 sources for " Hind Etin " (Roud 33, Child 41), while the Traditional Ballad Index list only one source.) House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. The leader of

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946-457: The UK and North America. It is possible by searching the database—for example by title, first line(s), or subject matter (or a combination of any of a dozen fields)—to locate many of the variants of a particular song. Comprehensive details of those songs are then available, including details of the original collected source, and a reference to where to find the text (and possibly music) of the song within

989-547: The borough members were often from the merchant classes. These members represented subjects of the Crown who were not Lords Temporal or Spiritual, who themselves sat in the House of Lords . The House of Commons gained its name because it represented communities ( communes ). From the Middle Ages until the early 20th century the suffrage was limited in various ways, typically to some male property-owners; in 1780 just 3% of

1032-591: The category of "the people" as middle class, and suggested a further change to the song. Referring to his experiences in the Magonista rebellion of 1911 , he wrote: When the Red Flag was flying in Lower California there were not any of "the people" in the ranks of the rebels. Common working stiffs and cow-punchers were in the majority, with a little sprinkling of "outlaws," whatever that is. [...] Well, it

1075-655: The conclusion of a burial service for Henry John Morris (AKA Harry, born Henry John Vaughan, 1880-1920) in Greymouth, New Zealand on 11 January 1920. Henry had left Wales for New Zealand in 1908 in part to work in Government Mines far removed from the rugged employment conditions of family-owned mines in Wales. Henry became locally prominent in the Socialist and Labour Movement, as he had been at home in Wales, which

1118-723: The early radical workers' movement in the United States, and it appeared as the first song in the first edition of the Little Red Songbook of the Industrial Workers of the World in 1909. Only five of the six stanzas were printed, omitting the fourth stanza that begins, "It well recalls the triumphs past." In a 1913 article for the Industrial Worker , the celebrated IWW bard Joe Hill rejected

1161-465: The index is to give each song a unique identifier . The numbers were assigned on a more or less arbitrary basis, and are not intended to carry any significance in themselves. However, because of the practicalities of compiling the index (building on previously published sources) it is true as a general rule that older and better-known songs tend to occupy low numbers, while songs which are obscure have higher numbers. Closely related songs are grouped under

1204-477: The kitchen sink" was popular among schoolchildren in the 1950s, which may have inspired Rosselson's version. A version can be found as far back as 1920 in "Through Bolshevik Russia" by Ethel Snowden . A version of the lyrics sung regularly at the Liberal Democrats ' Glee Club , also dated to the mid-1960s, is: The people's flag is palest pink, It's not as red as most folk think. We must not let

1247-399: The magician-thief made charitable donations to African children. "The Red Flag" is sung in the 2018 film Red Joan at a Cambridge University socialist meeting circa 1938 attended by the young protagonist (portrayed by Sophie Cookson ) and her romantic interest Leo (portrayed by Tom Hughes ). The tune also appears in the title sequence of popular 1970’s UK sitcom Citizen Smith , which

1290-474: The majority party in the House of Commons by convention becomes the prime minister . Other parliaments have also had a lower house called the "House of Commons". The House of Commons of the Kingdom of England evolved from an undivided parliament to serve as the voice of the tax-paying subjects of the counties and the boroughs . Knights of the shire , elected from each county, were usually landowners, while

1333-408: The most well-known parts of the song, are as follows: The people's flag is deepest red, It shrouded oft our martyred dead And ere their limbs grew stiff and cold, Their hearts' blood dyed its every fold. So raise the scarlet standard high, Beneath its shade we'll live and die, Though cowards flinch and traitors sneer, We'll keep the red flag flying here. "The Red Flag" resonated with

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1376-508: The original imprint and where a copy may be located. The Roud number – "Roud num" – field may be used as a cross-reference to the Roud Folk Song Index itself in order to establish the traditional origin of the work. The database is recognised as a "significant index" by the EFDSS and was one of the first items to be published on its web site after the launch of the online version of the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library in 2006. The purpose of

1419-509: The past few years, the numbers have been widely accepted in academic circles. James Madison Carpenter 's collection has 6,200 transcriptions and 1,000 recorded cylinders made between 1927 and 1955. The index gives the title, first line and the name of the source singer. When appropriate, the Child number is given. It is still a largely unexploited resource, with none of the recordings easily available. The Cabinet of Folksongs ( Dainu skapis )

1462-420: The people know What socialists thought long ago. Don't let the scarlet banner float; We want the middle classes' vote. Let our old fashioned comrades sneer, We'll stay in power for many a year. The anarcho-syndicalist punk band Chumbawamba 's "Reubens has been Shot" parodied the song which conflated "The Red Flag" and "Oh Christmastree", which share a common tune, to suggest the corruption or wilting of

1505-561: The road to victory, We'll keep the Welsh flag flying high. Chelsea F.C. fans sing a version of the song called "The Blue Flag": From Stamford Bridge to Wembley We'll keep the blue flag flying high Flying high up in the sky We'll keep the Blue flag flying high From Stamford Bridge to Wembley We'll keep the blue flag flying high Northampton Town F.C. supporters have their own adaptation "The Fields Are Green": The fields are green,

1548-563: The same Roud number. If a trusted authority gives the name of a song but not the words, it is assigned Roud number 000. The Index cross-references to the Child Ballad number, if one is available for the particular song in question. It also includes, where appropriate, the Laws number , a reference to a system of classification of folk songs, using one letter of the alphabet and up to two numeric digits, developed by George Malcolm Laws in

1591-441: The scarlet standard high. Beneath its shade we'll live and die, Though cowards flinch and traitors sneer, We'll keep the red flag flying here. (chorus) It waved above our infant might, When all ahead seemed dark as night; It witnessed many a deed and vow, We must not change its colour now. (chorus) It well recalls the triumphs past, It gives the hope of peace at last; The banner bright,

1634-497: The sky is blue The River Nene goes winding through The Market Square is cobblestoned It shakes the old dears to the bones No finer town you'll ever see No finer town there'll ever be Big city lights don't bother me Northampton Town, I'm proud to be! Leeds United fans sing a version of the song called "Forever and Ever": Forever and ever We'll follow our team We're Leeds United, we rule supreme We'll never be mastered, by you, By you f*cking b*stards We'll keep

1677-665: The song are sung by the Japanese Communist Party and Korean People's Army . Irishman Jim Connell wrote the song's lyrics in 1889 in Nicholas Donovan's house. There are six stanzas, each followed by the chorus. It is normally sung to the tune of "Lauriger Horatius", better known as the German carol " O Tannenbaum " ("O Christmas Tree"), though Connell had wanted it sung to the tune of a pro- Jacobite Robert Burns anthem, "The White Cockade". The use of

1720-431: The symbol plain, Of human right and human gain. (chorus) It suits today the weak and base, Whose minds are fixed on pelf and place To cringe before the rich man's frown, And haul the sacred emblem down. (chorus) With head uncovered swear we all To bear it onward till we fall; Come dungeons dark or gallows grim, This song shall be our parting hymn. (chorus) A famous song of

1763-404: The tune of "O Tannenbaum" was popularised by British socialist writer Adolphe Smith Headingley in the 1890s; Connell disapproved of the tune which he regarded as "church music" and conservative by nature. When Billy Bragg recorded the song in 1990 with Scottish folk singer Dick Gaughan , he sang it to this original "White Cockade" melody. The lyrics of the first verse and the chorus, which are

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1806-477: The white flag flying high Supporters of Wolverhampton Wanderers sing a version of the song called "The Gold Flag" We’ll never die, we’ll never die We’ll never die, we’ll never die We're Wanderers, we'll never die We'll keep the gold flag flying high A version of "The Red Flag" with similar lyrics entitled "The Net Flag" was introduced near the inception of the World Wide Web : The people's web

1849-480: The world, with an emphasis on English-language songs, and contains over 62,000 entries and over 2,400 anthologies. Max Hunter's collection lists 1,600 songs, but each minor variant is given a distinct number. The Traditional Ballad Index at the California State University at Fresno includes Roud numbers up to number 5,000 with comments on the songs, but draws on fewer sources. (For example,

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