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