The Lonnie Hudkins Memorial Singers performed on Dec. 6 at the Guild’s annual holiday party. Listen and follow along with the lyrics posted below:
“Hey Stan”
Guild tribute to Stan Lipsey, sung to “Hey Jude”
Hey Stan, you had the plan
Take a good rag, and make it better
You took down the Courier Express
They were a mess, and you did them in
Hey Stan, you’re still the man
We can tell you still have a hand in things
We heard you, cursing two floors below
the last time we wrote – on Carl Paladino
Hey Stan, you still dig jazz
except when Guild folks show up with picket signs
Please Stan, don’t take it personally
Now that you’re free, come join up on our side
BRIDGE:
‘Cause Stan, you cagey son of a gun, you were the one
of whom we made fun, when we sought raises
But since that’s all in the past, we think, at last
that it wouldn’t hurt to sing your praises
Na na na na-na, na na na na na!
Hey Stan, while you were here
the cash flow was overwhelming
With Buffett, you made a really great team
Now Warren’s screaming [yell:] STAN, DON’T LEAVE ME!
BRIDGE:
Go on and hop the plane to Palm Springs, but call, pull strings
Remind us of things, best not forgotten
And just before you depart, dear Stan, have heart
and tell Warren Colville we need raises
Na na na-na-na, na na na na!
Hey Stan, work on your tan
Take some time out to be with Judy
Play tennis and eat at Dairy Queen
and if you’re free, write us a letter
[“Everybody, sing it with us!”]
Na na na na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na, Hey Stan!
Na na na na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na, Hey Stan!
“It’s a Digital World”
(Sung to the tune of “It’s a Marshmallow World”)
It’s a digital world in the future
When the news comes in HTML
If we want to stay, relevant today
We can’t stay in online hell.
There’s so much breaking news being posted
On a site that has struggled since birth
But we can’t get enough, to sign up for this stuff
We’re the worst to subscribe to on earth!
This site is your future, with all its woes
Although it blows, whenever it froze
You find Hobby Lobby, but nothing else
Gee what – a sad tale it tells.
It’s a shame that they can’t find directors,
Who can run the thing more than a year.
They just fire one, and that can’t be fun
No job lasts, in the digital world.
The site always tells me, sign in again
You’ll have less than 10, more articles then
The site always gives me a countdown to load
Let’s flush – it down the commode!
Still it’s the last greatest hope for our paper
We’re lost if we can’t figure it out
We need Buffalo, News dot com to grow
The future, it’s a digital world.
The future, it’s a digital world.
“Do You See What I See?”
Said the Guild members to their colleagues near
Do you see what I see? (Do you see what I see?)
On the newsroom floor, colleagues near
Do you see what I see? (do you see what I see?)
The stress, the stress that hovers in the air
We don’t have a moment to spare, but we might take time out to swear
Said the colleagues to Guild stewards here
Do you hear what I hear? (Do you hear what I hear?)
From the fifth-floor management team
Do you hear what I hear? (Do you hear what I hear?)
Our revenue’s still sinking like a stone
And they’ve trimmed us down to the bone, but they still want more for their own
Said the Guild stewards to their members here
Do you know what I know? (Do you know what I know?)
Deep within our hearts, members here
Do you know what I know? (Do you know what I know?)
We’ll fight, we’ll fight, we’re smarter and we bite
In the end, we know it’s all right
Cause together we’ll show them our might!
Said the Guild members to the publisher
Listen to what we say! (Listen to what we say!)
In your office large, publisher
Listen to what we say! (Listen to what we say!)
We’ll bargain ‘til we get the fairest deal
And a contract that will reveal that our Guild is stronger than steel
“Happy Holidays”
Happy holidays (happy holidays)
Happy holidays (happy holidays)
While the merry bells keep ringing
May your every wish come true
Happy holidays (happy holidays)
Happy holidays (happy holidays)
May the calendar keep ringing
Happy holidays … to you!
Buffalo Newspaper Guild CWA Local 31026 