Joe Hill come over from shores for some work to do And the Statue of waved him by As Joe come a through, Joe Hill As Joe come a sailing
Oh his were coarse and his hopes were high As he headed for the promised And it a few weeks on the out-of-work streets Before he to understand Before he began to
And Joe got by a Bowery bar Sweeping up the As his rag would sail the barroom rail Sounded like he whistled on a You could hear him whistling on a tune
And Joe on from job to job the docks to the railroad line And no matter how hungry the that wrote In his letters he was always fine In his letters he was always doing
Oh, the years by like the sun goin' down Slowly turn the page and Joe Looked back at the sweat upon his He had nothing to but his age He had to show but his age
So he headed out for the California There things were as bad So he the industrial workers of the world the union was the only friend he had 'Cause the union was the only he had
Now, the strikes bloody and the strikes black as hard as they were long In the dark of night Joe would awake and write In the morning he would raise them a song In the he would raise them with a song
And he wrote his words to the of the day To be passed along the vine And the strikes were led and the songs spread And Joe Hill was on the line Yes, Joe Hill was 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 of the crime Joe was the killer of the crime
Joe raised his hands but they him down He had but guilt to give It's a doctor I need and they left him to He it 'cause he had the will to live Yes, he it 'cause he had the will to live
Then the trial was held in a building of 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 Strange are the ways of For the government crawled to the mine owner's That the judge was by the state Yes, the was appointed by the state
Oh, Utah can be had but not for a union man And Joe was by summer early morn That there'd be one less in the land There'd be one less in the land
Now, William was Governor Spry And a was his to hold On the last appeal, fell a tear "May the Lord have mercy on soul May the have mercy on your soul"
President Wilson held up the day But even he fail For heard the soul searching words Of the soul in the Salt City jail Of the soul in the Salt Lake jail
For 36 years he lived out his And he more than his part For his songs that he made, he was carefully With a rifle buried in his heart With a rifle buried in his heart
Yes, they lined Joe Hill up the wall Blindfold over his the life of a rebel that he chose to live It's the death of a rebel that he the death of a rebel that he died
Now, say Joe was guilty as charged And some say he wasn't there And I guess nobody will ever the court records all disappeared 'Cause the records all disappeared
Say wherever you go in this fair land in union hall In the dusty these words are marked In between all the cracks the wall In between all the cracks upon the
the very last line that Joe Hill wrote When he that his days were through "Boys, this is my last and will Good luck to all of you, luck to all of you"