Joe come over from Sweden shores Looking for work to do And the Statue of waved him by As Joe come a through, Joe Hill As Joe a sailing through
Oh his clothes were coarse and his hopes were As he headed for the promised And it a few weeks on the out-of-work streets he began to understand Before he began to
And Joe got by a Bowery bar Sweeping up the As his rag would sail the barroom rail like he whistled on a tune You could almost hear him whistling on a
And Joe on from 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 turn the page and Joe Looked back at the sweat upon his He had nothing to but his age He had nothing to but his age
So he headed out for the shore things were just as bad So he joined the industrial 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 of night Joe would stay awake and write In the morning he would raise with a song In the morning he would raise them with a
And he his words to the tunes of the day To be along the union vine 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 City a murder was There was a clue to find Oh, the was poor 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 I need and they left him to bleed He made it 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 would be named And the days more than the cold copper ore 'Cause he feared that he was being he found out that he was being framed
Oh, are the ways of western law are the ways of fate For the government crawled to the mine owner's That the judge was appointed by the Yes, the was appointed by the state
Oh, Utah can be had but not for a union man And Joe was warned by summer early That there'd be one less in the land There'd be one less singer in the
Now, William was Governor Spry And a life was his to On the last appeal, fell a governor's "May the Lord mercy on your soul May the Lord have on your soul"
President Wilson held up the day But even he would For nobody heard the soul words Of the soul in the Salt Lake City Of the soul in the Lake City jail
For 36 he lived out his days And he than played his part For his songs that he made, he was carefully With a rifle buried in his heart With a rifle bullet in his heart
Yes, they lined Joe Hill up the wall over his eyes It's the life of a rebel that he chose to 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 say he wasn't even there And I nobody will ever know the court records all disappeared 'Cause the court all disappeared
Say wherever you go in this fair land in every union 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 that Joe Hill wrote When he that his days were through "Boys, this is my last and will luck to all of you, good luck to all of you"