Joe come over from Sweden shores Looking for some 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 coarse and his hopes high As he for the promised land And it took a few on the out-of-work streets Before he began to Before he began to
And Joe got hired by a bar Sweeping up the As his rag would sail over the barroom like he whistled on a tune You almost hear him whistling on a tune
And Joe rolled on job to job From the docks to the line And no how hungry the hand that wrote In his he was always doing fine In his letters he was always fine
Oh, the years by like the sun goin' down turn the page and when Joe Looked at the sweat upon his tracks He had to show but his age He had nothing to but his age
So he headed out for the shore There things were as bad So he joined the industrial of the world the union was the only friend he had 'Cause the was the only friend he had
Now, the strikes were bloody and the Were black as hard as they were In the dark of night Joe stay awake and write In the morning he would them with a song In the morning he raise them with a song
And he his words to the tunes of the day To be passed the union vine And the strikes were led and the songs spread And Joe Hill was on the line Yes, Joe Hill was always on the
Now, in Lake City a murder was made There was hardly a to find Oh, the proof was but the sheriff was sure Joe was the killer of the Joe was the killer of the crime
Joe his hands but they shot him down He had nothing but guilt to It's a doctor I need and left him to bleed He made it 'cause he had the to live Yes, he made it 'cause he had the to live
Then the was held in a building of wood And there the would be named And the days weighed more than the cold ore 'Cause he feared that he was framed 'Cause he found out 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 the judge was appointed by the state Yes, the was appointed by the state
Oh, justice can be had but not for a union man And Joe was warned by early morn That there'd be one less in the land There'd be one singer in the land
Now, William Spry was Spry And a was his to hold On the last appeal, fell a tear "May the Lord have mercy on your May the Lord have mercy on soul"
President Wilson held up the day But even he fail For nobody heard the soul words Of the in the Salt Lake City jail Of the soul in the Salt Lake City
For 36 he lived out his days And he more than played his For his songs that he made, he was carefully With a rifle bullet in his heart a rifle bullet buried in his heart
Yes, they Joe Hill up against the wall Blindfold his eyes It's the of a rebel that he chose to live the death of a rebel that he died It's the death of a rebel that he
Now, say Joe was guilty as charged And some say he even there And I guess nobody ever know the court records all disappeared 'Cause the court all disappeared
Say wherever you go in this fair land in union hall In the dusty dark words are marked In between all the upon the wall In between all the cracks the wall
It's the very line that Joe Hill wrote When he knew that his days through "Boys, this is my last and final luck to all of you, good luck to all of you"