You know when they block your trucks boys by layin' on the road
As you built one more link on the chain
And he's chokin' on your links of the chain
When the police on the horses were waitin' on demand
And forgetting what you stood for, you tried to block the tide
Oh, the automation bosses were laughin' on the side
All that they are doin' is all that you have showed
And your union took no stand and your union was betrayed
Ridin' through the strike with the pistols in their hands
As you lost yourself a link on the chain
For now the times are tellin' you the times are rollin' on
Oh, the power of the factory was greater than the gun
When you were standing helpless on the outside of the door
And then in 1954, decisions finally made
And your union's not a union till he's thrown out of the way
When you're building all your links on the chain
Swingin' at the skulls of many a union man
As you built one more link on the chain, on the chain
As you're buildin' all your links on the chain, on the chain
And you started building links on the chain, on the chain
But the army of the union, they did what could be done
He's the same man who was scabbin' hard just the other day
As they watched you lose your link on the chain
That you gotta strike, you gotta fight to get what you are owed
As you built one more link on the chain
And then there came the boycotts and then the freedom rides
As they watched you lose your link on the chain, on the chain
When you're building all your links on the chain, on the chain
And you started building links on the chain
As you built one more link on the chain, on the chain
And you're fighting for the same thing, the jobs that will be gone
And the man who tries to tell you that they'll take your job away
Then the army of the fascists tried to put you on the run
Now it's only fair to ask your boys, which side are you on?
And he's chokin' on your links of the chain, of the chain
As you lost yourself a link on the chain, on the chain
Oh, the black man was a-risin' fast, racin' from the shade
