Songs:The Preacher And The Slave (10236)
From WWR
Contents |
Trivia, story behind the song, etc.
Songwriter
"The Preacher and the Slave" is a song written by Joe Hill in 1911.
History
This tune was part of the revolutionary music during the early labor movement. It was written as a parody of the song "In the Sweet By and By"
Lyrics
Long-haired preachers come out every night,
Try to tell you what's wrong and what's right;
But when asked how 'bout something to eat
They will answer in voices so sweet
You will eat, bye and bye,
In that glorious land above the sky;
Work and pray, live on hay,
You'll get pie in the sky when you die
And the Starvation Army they play,
And they sing and they clap and they pray,
Till they get all your coin on the drum,
Then they tell you when you're on the bum
Holy Rollers and Jumpers come out
And they holler, they jump and they shout
Give your money to Jesus, they say,
He will cure all diseases today
If you fight hard for children and wife-
Try to get something good in this life-
You're a sinner and bad man, they tell,
When you die you will sure go to hell.
Workingmen of all countries, unite
Side by side we for freedom will fight
When the world and its wealth we have gained
To the grafters we'll sing this refrain
You will eat, bye and bye,
When you've learned how to cook and how to fry;
Chop some wood, 'twill do you good
Then you'll eat in the sweet bye and bye
The chorus is sung in a call and response pattern.
You will eat [You will eat] bye and bye [bye and bye]
In that glorious land above the sky [Way up high]
Work and pray [Work and pray] live on hay [live on hay]
You'll get pie in the sky when you die [That's a lie!]
Thus the final verse becomes
You will eat [You will eat] bye and bye [bye and bye]
When you've learned how to cook and how to fry [How to fry]
Chop some wood [Chop some wood], 'twill do you good [do you good]
Then you'll eat in the sweet bye and bye [That's no lie]
The fourth verse is not normally sung today.
(Tune : In the Sweet Bye and Bye) IWW Little Red Songbook 1911 Edition
Listener comments about "The Preacher And The Slave (10236)"
Tags
 | Protest 668 items |
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on the album
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Listener rankings: 4 stars=Kazookid 3 stars=Mert ♦ 12-stringer ♦ Kimchifox |
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