Joe Hill Lyrics by Phil Ochs

Joe Hill Lyrics

    pre>f fsus f c (open d string/then back on 2nd fret)
    Joe hill come over from sweden shores
    F fsus f c
    Looking for some work to do
    F c am
    And the statue of liberty waved him by
    C (open d string/place finger on g st. 2nd fret/return)
    As joe come a sailing through, joe hill
    C g7 c
    As joe come a sailing through.

    Oh his clothes were coarse and his hopes were high
    As he headed for the promised land
    And it took a few weeks on the out-of-work streets
    Before he began to understand
    Before he began to understand

    And joe got hired by a bowery bar
    Sweeping up the saloon
    As his rag would sail over the baroom rail
    Sounded like he whistled on a tune
    You could almost hear him whistling on a tune

    And joe rolled on from job to job
    From the docks to the railroad line
    And no matter how hungry the hand that wrote
    In his letters he was always doing fine
    In his letters he was always doing fine

    Oh, the years went by like the sun goin' down
    Slowly turn the page
    And when joe looked back at the sweat upon his tracks
    He had nothing to show but his age
    He had nothing to show but his age

    So he headed out for the california shore
    There things were just as bad
    So he joined the industrial workers of the world
    'cause, the union was the only friend he had
    'cause, the union was the only friend he had

    Now the strikes were bloody and the strikes were black
    As hard as they were long
    In the dark of night joe would stay awake and write
    In the morning he would raise them with a song
    In the morning he would raise them with a song

    And he wrote his words to the tunes of the day
    To be passed along the union vine
    And the strikes were led and the songs were spread
    And joe hill was always on the line
    Yes joe hill was always on the line

    Now in salt lake city a murder was made
    There was hardly a clue to find
    Oh, the proof was poor, but the sheriff was sure
    Joe was the killer of the crime
    That joe was the killer of the crime

    Joe raised his hands but they shot him down
    He had nothing but guilt to give
    It's a doctor i need and they left him to bleed
    He made it 'cause he had the will to live
    Yes, he made it 'cause he had the will to live

    Then the trial was held in a building of wood
    And there the killer would be named
    And the days weighed more than the cold copper ore
    Cause he feared that he was being framed
    Cause he found out that he was being framed

    Oh, strange are the ways of western law
    Strange are the ways of fate
    For the government crawled to the mine owner's call
    That the judge was appointed by the state
    Yes, the judge was appointed by the state

    Oh, utah justice can be had
    But not for a union man
    And joe was warned by summer early morn
    That there'd be one less singer in the land
    There'd be one less singer in the land

    Now william spry was governor spry
    And a life was his to hold
    On the last appeal, fell a governor's tear
    May the lord have mercy on your soul
    May the lord have mercy on your soul

    Even president wilson held up the day
    But even he would fail
    For nobody heard the soul searching words
    Of the soul in the salt lake city jail
    Of the soul in the salt lake city jail

    For 36 years he lived out his days
    And he more than played his part
    For his songs that he made, he was carefully paid
    With a rifle bullet buried in his heart
    With a rifle bullet buried in his heart

    Yes, they lined joe hill up against the wall
    Blindfold over his eyes
    It's the life of a rebel that he chose to live
    It's the death of a rebel that he died
    It's the death of a rebel that he died

    Now some say joe was guilty as charged
    And some say he wasn't even there
    And i guess nobody will ever know
    'cause the court records all disappeared
    'cause the court records all disappeared

    Say wherever you go in this fair land
    In every union hall
    In the dusty dark these words are marked
    In between all the cracks upon the wall
    In between all the cracks upon the wall

    It's the very last line that joe will wrote
    When he knew that his days were through
    "boys, this is my last and final will
    Good luck to all of you
    Good luck to all of you"

    /pre>

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