The Little Red Songbook is a collection of songs related to the international trade union the Industrial Workers of the World first published in 1909. Its self-declared purpose is to "fan the flames of discontent" and build support for the union and labour movement as a whole. It usually features old folk songs and hymns with new lyrics, along with music written expressly for the labor movement.
The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), whose members are nicknamed "Wobblies", is an international labor union founded in Chicago in 1905. The nickname's origin is uncertain. Its ideology combines general unionism with industrial unionism, as it is a general union, subdivided between the various industries which employ its members. The philosophy and tactics of the IWW are described as "revolutionary industrial unionism", with ties to socialist, syndicalist, and anarchist labor movements.
The Little Red Songbook was first published by a committee of IWW members in Spokane in 1909. It was originally titled Songs of the Workers, on the Road, in the Jungles, and in the ShopsâÂÂSongs to Fan the Flames of Discontent. It includes songs written by Joe Hill, Harry McClintock (Spellbinder), Ralph Chaplin, T-Bone Slim, and others. The early editions contained many of the most well-known labor songs, such as "The Red Flag," "The Internationale," "The Preacher and the Slave," and "Solidarity Forever." Thirty-eight editions were published between 1909 and 2010.
A Canadian I.W.W. Songbook, compiled and edited by Jerzy (George) Dymny, featuring 41 songs with a Canadian slant was published in 1990.
An edition commemorating the centennial of the IWW's founding in 1905 was published in 2005 and given as an advance copy to attendees of the centenary concert, "Fan the Flames of Discontent". The latest edition of the Little Red Songbook was printed in 2010.
The 190 different songs included in the Little Red Songbook between 1909 and 1973 are collected and annotated in The Big Red Songbook, edited by Archie Green, David Roediger, and Franklin Rosemont and published in 2007.
In 2023, a call was put out by the Industrial Worker for songs to be included in a 39th edition.
This is a list of songs featured in the 36th edition, subtitled the International Edition