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