Songs are a vital part of the history and experience of the socialist movement and movements of mass struggle. The ones in this collection, like the music of today, provide insights into the existance and feelings of the people who sang and listened to them. But these songs were not only a reflection of mass social movement, they were part of it. Many songs here boosted morale during long, drawn-out strikes and alleviated the drudgery of picket lines. Singing and the songs themselves helped establish the emotional solidarity which made the movement strong against seemingly overwhelming forces.

The History of the socialist movement is inextricable from the historyof the labor movement because of the political orientation of socialists toward the working class, because workers in struggle move toward socialist solutions. Most of the songs on this site, then, belong to the struggles of both the working class and the socialist movement.

The bulk of the songs in this collection were taken from the no longer available mimeographed "Socialist Songbook" edited by Owne Fleishman who, in turn relied on the work of many others. We see this songbook site only as an initial effort. Hopefully it will be possible to add to this collection including the music of the lesser known tunes. In the meantime we felt that a start is better than nothing at all. We welcome any and all suggestions for other songs to be included and eagerly solicit the talents necessary to produce a more elaborate radical songbook site.

(adapted from the "Socialist Songbook" International Socialists U.S. 1970)