Joe Hill come over from Sweden Looking for some to do And the Statue of Liberty him by As Joe a sailing through, Joe Hill As Joe come a sailing
Oh his were coarse and his hopes were high As he for the promised land And it took a few weeks on the out-of-work Before he began to Before he began to
And Joe got by a Bowery bar up the saloon As his rag would sail over the barroom like he whistled on a tune You could hear him whistling on a tune
And Joe rolled on job to job From the docks to the line And no matter how hungry the hand wrote In his he was always doing fine In his letters he was always doing
Oh, the years by like the sun goin' down Slowly the page and when Joe Looked back at the sweat upon his He had to show but his age He had to show but his age
So he headed out for the California things were just as bad So he joined the industrial of the world the union was the only friend he had 'Cause the union was the friend he had
Now, the were bloody and the strikes Were black as hard as they long In the of night Joe would stay awake and write In the morning he would raise them a song In the morning he raise them with a song
And he wrote his to the tunes of the day To be passed along the union And the strikes were led and the songs spread And Joe was always on the line Yes, Joe Hill was always on the
Now, in Lake City a murder was made There was hardly a clue to Oh, the proof was poor but the sheriff was Joe was the of the crime That Joe was the of the crime
Joe his hands but they shot him down He had nothing but to give It's a doctor I need and they him to bleed He it 'cause he had the will to live Yes, he it 'cause he had the will to live
Then the was held in a building of wood And the killer would be named And the days weighed more the cold copper ore 'Cause he that he was being framed he found out that he was being framed
Oh, are the ways of western law Strange are the ways of For the government to the mine owner's call That the was appointed by the state Yes, the judge was appointed by the
Oh, Utah can be had but not for a union man And Joe was by summer early morn there'd be one less singer in the land There'd be one less singer in the
Now, William Spry was Spry And a life was his to On the last appeal, fell a tear "May the Lord have mercy on soul May the Lord mercy on your soul"
Even President held up the day But even he would For nobody the soul searching words Of the in the Salt Lake City jail Of the soul in the Salt City jail
For 36 years he lived out his And he more played his part For his songs that he made, he was paid a rifle bullet buried in his heart With a rifle bullet in his heart
Yes, they lined Joe Hill up against the Blindfold over his the life of a rebel that he chose to live It's the death of a rebel he died It's the of a rebel that he died
Now, some say Joe was as charged And some say he wasn't there And I nobody will ever know 'Cause the records all disappeared 'Cause the court records all
Say wherever you go in this land in every union hall In the dusty dark these words are In all the cracks upon the wall In all the cracks upon the wall
It's the very last line that Joe wrote When he knew that his days through "Boys, this is my and final will Good luck to all of you, good to all of you"