"Which Side Are You On" is based on an original song written by Florence Reece in the 1930s :

Come all of you good workers
Good news I have to tell
Of how the good old union
Has come in here to dwell

Which side are you on ?
Which side are you on ?

Don't scab for the bosses
Don't listen to their lies
Us poor folks haven't got a chance
Unless we organize

Which side are you on ?
Which side are you on ?

They say in Harlan County
There are no neutrals there
You'll either be a Union man
Or a thug for J.H. Blair

Which side are you on ?
Which side are you on ?

Oh workers can you stand it ?
Oh tell me how you can
Will you be a lousy scab
Or will you be a man ?

Which side are you on ?
Which side are you on ?

My daddy was a miner
And I'm a miner's son
And I'll stick with the Union
'Til every battle's won

Which side are you on ?
Which side are you on ?

My daddy was a miner
He's in the air and sun
But he'll stick with the Union
'Til every battle's won

Which side are you on ?
Which side are you on ?