The band put out a series of EPs and was signed by Rancid frontman Tim Armstrong's label Hellcat Records. In 1998, the Dropkick Murphys released their first full-length album, Do Or Die. Lead singer Mike McColgan, who left the band later that year, was replaced by The Bruisers lead singer Al Barr. In 1999, they released their followup album, The Gang's All Here. In 2001, they released their third album, Sing Loud, Sing Proud. The album showcased the group’s developing sound and included collaborations with The Pogues' frontman Shane MacGowan and Cock Sparrer's Colin McFaull. It also marked a significant lineup change for the band. Original guitarist Rick Barton was replaced by former The Ducky Boys' guitarists James Lynch and Marc Orrell; instruments were added and played by new members Ryan Foltz and Spicy McHaggis.
The Dropkick Murphys' next album, Blackout, was released in 2003. The new album included the radio hit "Walk Away," as well as the songs "Fields of Athenry" and "The Dirty Glass." The latter features female vocals by Stephanie Dougherty (Deadly Sins). Around the same time, the band released a re-working of the Boston Red Sox anthem "Tessie," which then became the official song of the team's 2004 World Series run. "Tessie" was also used throughout the major motion picture Fever Pitch and was included on the EA Sports MVP Baseball 2005 soundtrack. In 2005, the Dropkick Murphys released Singles Collection Volume 2, featuring covers, B-sides, and other material that didn't make it onto previous albums, and the band contributed a recording of "We Got the Power" to Rock Against Bush, Volume 2.
The Dropkick Murphys' fifth studio album, The Warrior's Code, was released on June 21, 2005. It features the singles "Sunshine Highway," "The Walking Dead," "The Warrior's Code," as well as the bonus track "Tessie." It also includes a song that was inspired by a Woody Guthrie poem, which the group named "I'm Shipping Up to Boston." The song was featured in Martin Scorsese's 2006 film The Departed. Scorsese mentioned the band in an interview after winning his first Oscar.
The Dropkick Murphys released their sixth studio album, The Meanest of Times, on September 18, 2007. It was their first release not on the Hellcat Records label but instead on the label Born & Bred.
In early 2008, Marc Orrell left the band. Thereupon Tim Brennan, who had been playing mandolin, accordion, banjo, tin whistle, and guitar for the band since 2004, replaced Orrell on lead guitar. Tim's previous musical duties were taken over by Jeff DaRosa, former member of The Vigilante and Pinkerton Thugs.
In September of 2022, This Machine Still Kills Fascists was released. It's an acoustic album with unused words and lyrics written by Woody Guthrie, selected and given to the band to use by Guthrie's daughter Nora. It did not feature Al Barr, who was on hiatus for family matters.
The band will release their twelfth album, Okemah Rising, on May 12, 2023. The album was recorded during the same sessions for This Machine Still Kills Facists and like that album will feature songs using the unused lyrics by Woody Guthrie. The album was preceded by the singles "I Know How it Feels" on March 1, 2023, and "Gotta Get to Peekskill" (featuring Violent Femmes) on March 30, 2023.
Studio albums
Do or Die (1998)
The Gang's All Here (1999)
Sing Loud, Sing Proud! (2001)
Blackout (2003)
The Warrior's Code (2005)
The Meanest of Times (2007)
Going Out in Style (2011)
Signed and Sealed in Blood (2013)
11 Short Stories of Pain & Glory (2017)
Turn Up That Dial (2021)
This Machine Still Kills Fascists (2022)
Okemah Rising (2023)
Worker's Song
Dropkick Murphys Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
By hand and by brain to earn your pay
Who for centuries long past for no more than your bread
Have bled for your countries and counted your dead
In the factories and mills, in the shipyards and mines
We've often been told to keep up with the times
For our skills are not needed, they've streamlined the job
We're the first ones to starve the first ones to die
The first ones in line for that pie-in-the-sky
And always the last when the cream is shared out
For the worker is working when the fat cat's about
And when the sky darkens and the prospect is war
Who's given a gun and then pushed to the fore
And expected to die for the land of our birth
Though we've never owned one lousy handful of earth?
We're the first ones to starve the first ones to die
The first ones in line for that pie-in-the-sky
And always the last when the cream is shared out
For the worker is working when the fat cat's about
We're the first ones to starve the first ones to die
The first ones in line for that pie-in-the-sky
And always the last when the cream is shared out
For the worker is working when the fat cat's about
We're the first ones to starve the first ones to die
The first ones in line for that pie-in-the-sky
And always the last when the cream is shared out
For the worker is working when the fat cat's about
All of these things the worker has done
From tilling the fields to carrying the gun
We've been yoked to the plough since time first began
And always expected to carry the can
The song "Worker's Song" by Dropkick Murphys is a tribute to the workers who work tirelessly with their hands and brains to earn their bread. The lyrics confront the harsh reality of how the worker is always the first one to suffer and the last one to benefit. It talks about the various industries where workers have been forced to keep up with the times, as their skills became redundant, and they were replaced by machines. The pride the workers took in their work has been stolen, with sliderules and stopwatch being used for determining their worth.
The song goes on to talk about how during times of war, the workers are given guns and expected to die for their country, even though they have never owned a handful of earth. The song highlights the struggles and hardships that the workers have to endure in their daily lives. From the fields to the factories and mines, they have always been the ones to carry the can.
Overall, "Worker's Song" is a tribute to the working class, their struggles, and their contributions towards the growth of the world. It sheds light on the injustice that the workers have had to face and encourages them to keep fighting for their rights.
Line by Line Meaning
Yeah, this one's for the workers who toil night and day
This song is dedicated to the hard-working people who work tirelessly day and night.
By hand and by brain to earn your pay
Workers use both their physical and mental abilities to earn their wages.
Who for centuries long past for no more than your bread
Workers have been working for centuries, earning barely enough to feed themselves.
Have bled for your countries and counted your dead
Workers have shed blood and lost lives while serving their nations.
In the factories and mills, in the shipyards and mines
Workers have been employed in various industries such as factories, mills, shipyards, and mines.
We've often been told to keep up with the times
Workers are often advised to update their skills and knowledge to stay relevant in their jobs.
For our skills are not needed, they've streamlined the job
Many jobs nowadays have been optimized, rendering the need for specialized skills less crucial.
And with sliderule and stopwatch our pride they have robbed
Workers are now being timed and tracked with tools such as stopwatches, eroding their autonomy and job satisfaction.
And when the sky darkens and the prospect is war
In times of war, workers are called upon to serve their nations by fighting.
Who's given a gun and then pushed to the fore
Workers are entrusted with guns and thrust onto the front lines of war.
And expected to die for the land of our birth
Workers are expected to lay down their lives for their countries, even if they don't own any land in it.
Though we've never owned one lousy handful of earth?
Despite having served for years, workers may not own any property or land in the country they live in.
All of these things the worker has done
Workers have performed many duties, including working in fields and fighting wars.
From tilling the fields to carrying the gun
From working in agriculture to serving in the military, workers have a diverse range of skills and experiences.
We've been yoked to the plough since time first began
Workers have been toiling for centuries and have always had to work hard for meager rewards.
And always expected to carry the can
Despite being responsible for much of the work that keeps society running, workers are often blamed for any issues or mistakes.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@markinpenna
from the blog Union Maid, November 2009:
Labor Notes: Worker's Song (Handful of Earth) by Ed Pickford
In preparing Worker's Song for this month's tune, Labor Notes emailed composer Ed Pickford in Roker, England, and Dropkick Murphys producer and bassist Ken Casey, on tour with the band in Dublin, Ireland.
First we asked Pickford to tell us something of the song's history and how he came to write it. He said:
I wrote the song in the mid 1970s. I wrote it very quickly one Saturday morning. In a way I suppose it was just waiting to be written down because it was a distillation of all the ideas I heard from my father, who was a miner for 50 years, as I grew up.
I gave the song to a very fine Scottish singer called Dick Gaughan and he put it on a CD in 1981 called Handful of Earth -- the title is a line from the song. Dick's CD, maybe to his artistic regret in some ways, has become an icon collection of material. It was from Handful of Earth that another fine singer Steve Young (I asked if I could borrow his voice sometime!) recorded the song on his CD Primal Young.
The Dropkick Murphys got The Workers' Song from Dick Gaughan's CD. I have never met The Dropkick Murphys but my daughter Katie met them at a gig they were doing in the north east of England and they were very kind to her -- they even sent me some of their merchandise. I was thrilled that a young group should record the song of an old folkie like myself. They bring fantastic passion to the song and I think they are a wonderful group.
I started out listening to Woody Guthrie and all those great American Labor Songs. To have a song up there in that pantheon makes me very proud.
We asked Pickford about two phrases unfamiliar to American listeners: "And we're always the last when the cream is shared out" and "always expected to carry the can". He wrote back:
There is a term in the UK for greedy bosses -- they are called "fat cats" and the "fat cats" are usually the ones who get "the cream" -- that is, the kind of rewards that they deny others. While the workforce is being exhorted to "tighten their belts," the same does not apply to the employer.
"Carry the can" means take the blame for something or suffer the consequences from the actions of others -- I think the term "fall guy" is along the same lines.
We then turned to Casey and asked his feelings about the song and how he first came to know it. He wrote:
Thanks for your help promoting the Workers Song, Dropkick Murphys, Ed Pickford, and labor music in general.
We discovered the song when a friend of mine gave me the Dick Gaughan record Handful of Earth. My friend knew I was a big fan of people like Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, etc. So he knew I'd love the song and as soon as I heard it. I knew it was a perfect song for the Dropkick Murphys to tackle and we immediately reached out to Ed Pickford who was a great guy, and kind enough to let us record his song.
Musically it has the huge catchy singalong chorus, and lyrically it is ingenious in that it encompasses in such a straightforward, simple way the plight of the worker, and the soldier. It is timeless in that it could apply to the struggle against today's corporate greedy, or to the land barons of other centuries, as well as to any government of any time that has sent its poor off to fight and die.
I think it is important for Dropkick Murphys to sing songs like this because we have a young audience and we are getting the opportunity to continue in the great folk tradition of telling stories like this to the next generation of listeners, who hopefully in turn will do the same themselves.
Music has a way of reaching people's hearts in a way no politician ever will, so I think singing songs like this is a good way to reach out to people, to make them think about the workers' struggle. And singing songs like Worker's Song keeps us strong and motivated to keep on fighting for what we all have coming to us.
Again, I/we appreciate your support.
We followed up asking if the band had any special considerations in adapting an originally acoustic political tune to the punk genre. Casey responded:
From a musical standpoint it was really easy to transform [Worker's Song] from its acoustic form to punk rock. It was like it was waiting for someone to give it that twist. I think old Ed is a punk rocker at heart!
As for us doing a political-minded song, that's also very natural as many of our original songs such as Boys on the Docks, 10 Years of Service, Tomorrow's Industry, Do or Die, and several others are very much labor-related songs themselves.
We thank Pickford and Casey for their thoughtful comments and kind words.
@deosullivan3
I have a Ph.D. but am the son of a working man. Union man all his life, and because of his sacrifice, I got my education. The Union Forever!
@allgodsnomasters2822
phd dont make you not a working man, by hand or by brain, any who make a living by selling their labor
@seanhayward8143
god bless you and your blue collar family
@jonathanmunoz137
same as me, i have Ph.D, but, i am a son of a worker from a very hard slum from buenos aires. the union forever
@PrincessVespa333
#Solidarity✊🏾
@jb111082
My father was a Union coal miner. UMWA took care of him and his kin. It put food on my table when I was a child. I followed in his footsteps. I'm a UMWA miner myself. They put food on my children's table. Like father like son I guess.
@Mightypi
Solidarity to every working class heart beat 👊 ✊️
@robertdering2608
Hell Yea.
@Edimonde
Was in the union on my workplace. Became second in command of the union when we got bought up by foreign investors. We knew there would be changes, but we never imagined it would be so bad. I saw with my own eyes how the disconnected "elite" reworked the entire workplace into a dystopian shithole. We fought them every step of the way, but it was a loosing battle. They had the money and the connections. All we had was ourselves. I've been screamed at, threatened with a lawsuit, had documents and keyboards thrown at me from irate bosses. They hired a so called "consultant" whose sole purpose was to undermine the union and split us up with thinlyveiled threats and backhanded bribery. I've seen grown men reduced to tears because they were being pushed beyond their limit with inhuman workloads. 3 years of constant battles. To my shame I had to quit because the stress was taking its toll on my health. Now I'm unemployed in the middle of a fucking pandemic. But, I'd do it all again if i get a new job. The only change in the workplace comes from workers sticking up for one another!
@accvid7930
A better world is possible with people like you about. The struggle goes on!