We Will Sing One Song by Joe Hill

Описание: joehill.sltrib.com

“We Will Sing One Song,” published in 1913, is an example of Joe Hill’s practice of taking well-known songs of his time and giving them new political meanings. Based on the traditional “My Old Kentucky Home,” his version - like many of his songs - is critical of those who hold political, economic and religious power. The song is performed by Six Feet In the Pine outside an abandoned house, which stands near the spot where Hill was arrested in 1914.

Lyrics:
We will sing one song of the meek and humble slave
The horn-handed son of the toil
He's toiling hard from the cradle to the grave
But his master reaps the profits from his toil
Then we'll sing one song of the greedy master class
They're vagrants in broadcloth, indeed
They live by robbing the ever-toiling mass
Human blood they spill to satisfy their greed

Organize! Oh, toilers, come organize your might
Then we'll sing one song
Of the workers' commonwealth
Full of beauty, full of love and health

We will sing one song of the politician sly
He's talking of changing the laws
Election day all the drinks and smokes he'll buy
While he's living from the sweat of your brow
Then we'll sing one song of the girl below the line
She's scorned and despised everywhere
While in their mansions the "keepers" wine and dine
From the profits that immoral traffic bear

Organize! Oh, toilers, come organize your might
Then we'll sing one song
Of the workers' commonwealth
Full of beauty, full of love and health

We will sing one song of the preacher, fat and sleek
He tells you of homes in the sky
He says, "Be generous, be lowly, and be meek
If you don't you'll sure get roasted when you die”
Then we'll sing one song of the poor and ragged tramp
He carries his home on his back
Too old to work, he's not wanted ‘round the camp
So he wanders without aim along the track

Organize! Oh, toilers, come organize your might
Then we'll sing one song
Of the workers' commonwealth
Full of beauty, full of love and health

We will sing one song of the children in the mills
They're taken from playgrounds and schools
In tender years made to go the pace that kills
In the sweatshops, 'mong the looms and the spools
Then we'll sing one song of the One Big Union Grand
The hope of the toiler and slave
It's coming fast; it is sweeping sea and land
To the terror of the grafter and the knave

Organize! Oh, toilers, come organize your might
Then we'll sing one song
Of the workers' commonwealth
Full of beauty, full of love and health