"Hold the Fort" - American Socialist Song

Originally an Evangelical Christian hymn, "Hold the Fort" has been adapted as a struggle song for people all over the globe. You may recognize the melody from "Brüder, seht, die rote Fahne", which is the German version of the song.
The song was originally created in 1870 by Philip Bliss after he heard the story of the Battle of Allatoona Pass told by Daniel Webster Whittle, a Union major in the American Civil War. Whittle recounted that General Sherman gave an order to the garrison at Allatoona Pass, saying, "Hold the fort; I am coming!" According to Whittle, this inspired his faith in Christianity because it brought to mind Revelation 2:25, in which Jesus said, "But that which ye have already hold fast till I come" to a faithful group of disciples at the Church at Thyatira. This was Bliss's inspiration for the original song.
When the IWW began striking in the early 1900s, scabs would often try to end the strikes by singing Evangelical hymns such as this one. In response, the IWW refitted the lyrics to match their strikes. That is the version sung here, and the version that became "Brüder, seht, die rote Fahne" in 1921.
The choir who performed this apparently was Czech, so their pronunciation is a bit off.



-- Lyrics --
We meet today in freedom's cause,
And raise our voices high;
We'll join our hands in union strong,
To battle or to die.

Hold the fort for we are coming,
Union men, be strong.
Side by side, we battle onward,
Victory will come.


Look, my comrades, see the union
Banners waving high.
Reinforcements now appearing,
Victory is nigh.

Hold the fort for we are coming,
Union men, be strong.
Side by side, we battle onward,
Victory will come.


See our numbers still increasing;
Hear the bugle blow.
By our union, we shall triumph
Over every foe.

Hold the fort for we are coming,
Union men, be strong.
Side by side, we battle onward,
Victory will come.
-- Lyrics --