Long-haired preachers come out every night
To tell you what’s wrong and what’s right
They will answer in voices so sweet
But when asked about something to eat
"You will eat, bye and byeIn that glorious land up in the skyWork and pray, live on hayYou'll get pie in the sky when you die"
And the starvation army they playThey sing and they clap and they pray'Til they get all your coin on the drumThen they'll tell you when you're on the bum
"You're gonna eat, bye and bye, poor boyIn that glorious land up in the sky, way up highWork and pray, and live on hayYou'll get pie in the sky when you die", dirty lie
Holy rollers and jumpers come outAnd they holler, they jump, Lord, they shout"Give your money to Jesus", they say"He will cure all your troubles today"
"And you will eat, bye and byeIn that glorious land up in the sky, way up highWork and pray, boy, live on hayYou'll get pie in the sky when you die"
If you fight hard for children and wifeTry to get something good from this life"You're a sinner and bad man", they tell"When you die, you will sure go to Hell"
"You will eat, bye and byeIn that glorious land up in the skyWork and pray, live on hayYou'll get pie in the sky when you die"
Working men of all countries uniteSide by side for freedom we will fightWhen this world and its wealth we have gainedTo the grafters, we'll sing this refrain
"Well, you will eat, bye and byeWhen you've learned how to cook and to fryChop some wood, it'll do you goodYou will eat in that sweet bye and bye"
"Yes, you'll eat, bye and byeIn that glorious land up in the sky, way up highWork and pray, and live on hayYou'll get pie in the sky when you die", that's a lie.
13 comments:
Great post.
Love the song and post.
Take care, have a great day!
I'd forgotten this song. Boy, good find -- so timely.
Man I haven't heard this song in a long time! I only vaguely remember it but it sure did unlock some memories.
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Great post.
It is so much a Joe Hill moment, isn't it?
He doesn't care if anyone eats but him and his rich butt buddies. The song is appropriate.
I should practice playing this on my guitar and play it at the next No Kings rally.
This is a song for today, unfortunately! So sad this can still be relevant! I don't know Joe Hill's songs but I used to love singing the ballad of joe hill with the trade union choir many years ago!
Thank you for this timely post. And thanks to Joan Baez, for immortalizing Joe Hill.
The song popularized by Joan Baez was originally written as a poem by Alfred Hayes and composed into music by Earl Robinson in 1936. It’s been covered by a number of singers, including Paul Robson.
Interesting, and good to know--thank you!
This influenced me, as a youngster: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99jMOkGL1dE
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