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