"The Popular Wobbly" is a labor song written by the Finnish-American songwriter

T-Bone Slim Matti Valentin Huhta (February 14, 1880 – May 15, 1942), better known by his pen name T-Bone Slim, was an American humorist, poet, songwriter, hobo, and labor activist, who played a prominent role in the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW ...

. It is a parody of the 1917 hit "They Go Wild Simply Wild Over Me" by Joseph McCarthy and

Fred Fisher Fred Fisher (born Alfred Breitenbach, September 30, 1875 – January 14, 1942) was a German-born American songwriter and Tin Pan Alley music publisher. Biography Fisher was born in Cologne, Germany. His parents were Max and Theodora Breitenb ...

.The Popular Wobbly (T-Bone Slim)
''folkarchive.de''. Retrieved October 28, 2013. "The Popular Wobbly" first appeared in the 1920 edition of the ''

Little Red Songbook 180px, The ''Little Red Songbook'' Since the founding of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) songs have played a large part in spreading the message of the One Big Union. The songs are preserved in the ''Little Red Songbook''. Definition ...

'' published by the

Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines general ...

. Its title referred to the "Wobbly" nickname that was often given to IWW members. The song was revived during the

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...

of the 1960s. Candie Carawan wrote new lyrics that told about her 1960 arrest while taking part in

desegregation Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups, usually referring to races. Desegregation is typically measured by the index of dissimilarity, allowing researchers to determine whether desegregation efforts are having impact o ...

sit-ins in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

. The Guy and Candie Carawan version is known as ''They Go Wild Over Me''. An adaptation of "The Popular Wobbly" was also included in a 1931 songbook published by radio personality

Ernest Iverson Ernest and Clarence Iverson were popular radio personalities on Twin Cities stations WDGY and KEYD during the 1930s and 1940s. Ernest (1903–1958) was known as Slim Jim. His brother Clarence (1905–1990) was the Vagabond Kid. Together they perf ...

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notably ...

Utah Phillips Bruce Duncan "Utah" Phillips (May 15, 1935 – May 23, 2008)
, KVMR, Nevada City, California, May 24, 2008. Retrieved 24 May 2008 ...

and

Joe Glazer Joe Glazer (June 19, 1918 – September 19, 2006), closely associated with labor unions and often referred to as "labor's troubadour," was an American folk musician who recorded more than thirty albums over the course of his career. Early l ...

Songs of the Wobblies
Internet Archive. Retrieved 10 January 2015. are among the well-known singers who have performed the song.

References

External links

Streaming audio
''They Go Wild Simply Wild Over Me:'' Billy Murray''The Popular Wobbly:'' Utah Phillips
Books
''Den Populära Rebellen'' (The Popular Wobbly)

''The Popular Wobbly'' and two other T-Bone Slim songs
Lyrics
''The Popular Wobbly:'' Swedish translation''The Popular Wobbly:'' Ernest Iverson adaptation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Popular Wobbly 1920 songs American songs Musical parodies Trade union songs Songs written by Fred Fisher