Casey Jones—the Union Scab

"Casey Jones—the Union Scab" is a song, written by labor figure Joe Hill in San Pedro, California, shortly after the first day of a nationwide walkout of 40,000 railway employees in the Illinois Central shopmen's strike of 1911.^[1] It is a parody of the song "The Ballad of Casey Jones" and is sung to its tune.

"Casey Jones—the Union Scab"
Song
Language	English
Published	1912
Songwriter(s)	Composer: Eddie Newton Lyricist: Joe Hill

The song is not historically accurate: Casey Jones was an active, dues-paying member of two labor unions (the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers) that both paid out life insurance to his widow.^[2]

The song was published in the Little Red Songbook in 1912.^[3] The song was included in a 2006 album of American folk songs "Classic Labor Songs from Smithsonian Folkways" released by the Smithsonian Institution.^[4]

Recordings of Joe Hill’s lyrics exist by Utah Phillips, and by Pete Seeger; translations into foreign language include those in Russian, by Leonid Utyosov, and in Hungarian, by the Szirt Együttes.

See also

• Organized labour portal

• Wobbly lingo
• List of train songs