A rebel we have know far long,
Who’s thrilled us often with his song,
Has fallen on an evil day:
They seek to take his life away!
No harm to him can we allow;
He needs our help and he needs it now;
He’s in their dungeon, dark and grim;
He fought for us; we will stand by him.
They’d fill his warrior heart with lead
And gloat to see him safely dead:
His voice forever hushed and still,
Our singing, fighting brave Joe Hill!
No harm to him can we allow;
He needs our help and he needs it now;
He’s in their dungeon, dark and grim;
He fought for us; we will stand by him.
His spirit gloried in the fight:
In Labor’s sure resistless might;
And One Big Union, staunch and strong:
This was the burden of his song.
No harm to him can we allow;
He needs our help and he needs it now;
He’s in their dungeon, dark and grim;
He fought for us; we will stand by him.
His heart was hot with burning hate
Against the bosses, small and great;
He told what haughty Sab-cats do,
And all about the wooden shoe.
No harm to him can we allow;
He needs our help and he needs it now;
He’s in their dungeon, dark and grim;
He fought for us; we will stand by him.
The “long-haired preachers” feared his name;
He filled apologists with shame:
While “Mister Block” so bland and meek,
With “Scissor-bill” did take a sneak.
No harm to him can we allow;
He needs our help and he needs it now;
He’s in their dungeon, dark and grim;
He fought for us; we will stand by him.
Now, boys, we’ve known this rebel long;
In every land, we’ve sung his song;
Let’s get him free that he may see
The day of our great victory!
No harm to him can we allow;
He needs our help and he needs it now;
He’s in their dungeon, dark and grim;
He fought for us; we will stand by him.
He made them hate him high and low;
They feared his tuneful message so;
He’d fight for us while he had breath;
We’ll save him from the jaws of death!
No harm to him can we allow;
He needs our help and he needs it now;
He’s in their dungeon, dark and grim;
He fought for us; we will stand by him.
Who’s thrilled us often with his song,
Has fallen on an evil day:
They seek to take his life away!
No harm to him can we allow;
He needs our help and he needs it now;
He’s in their dungeon, dark and grim;
He fought for us; we will stand by him.
They’d fill his warrior heart with lead
And gloat to see him safely dead:
His voice forever hushed and still,
Our singing, fighting brave Joe Hill!
No harm to him can we allow;
He needs our help and he needs it now;
He’s in their dungeon, dark and grim;
He fought for us; we will stand by him.
His spirit gloried in the fight:
In Labor’s sure resistless might;
And One Big Union, staunch and strong:
This was the burden of his song.
No harm to him can we allow;
He needs our help and he needs it now;
He’s in their dungeon, dark and grim;
He fought for us; we will stand by him.
His heart was hot with burning hate
Against the bosses, small and great;
He told what haughty Sab-cats do,
And all about the wooden shoe.
No harm to him can we allow;
He needs our help and he needs it now;
He’s in their dungeon, dark and grim;
He fought for us; we will stand by him.
The “long-haired preachers” feared his name;
He filled apologists with shame:
While “Mister Block” so bland and meek,
With “Scissor-bill” did take a sneak.
No harm to him can we allow;
He needs our help and he needs it now;
He’s in their dungeon, dark and grim;
He fought for us; we will stand by him.
Now, boys, we’ve known this rebel long;
In every land, we’ve sung his song;
Let’s get him free that he may see
The day of our great victory!
No harm to him can we allow;
He needs our help and he needs it now;
He’s in their dungeon, dark and grim;
He fought for us; we will stand by him.
He made them hate him high and low;
They feared his tuneful message so;
He’d fight for us while he had breath;
We’ll save him from the jaws of death!
No harm to him can we allow;
He needs our help and he needs it now;
He’s in their dungeon, dark and grim;
He fought for us; we will stand by him.
Contributed by Bernart Bartleby - 2015/4/20 - 15:13
O Bernardino, che me lo dai el tiempo di scaricà le immagini, di ridimensionarle (il "mugshot" di questa pagina era tipo 2500 x 3400, mi sono ritrovato un Joe Hill proiettato sulla parete fra poco...) e di infilarle...? D'accordo che siamo perfidi, anzi perfidissimi, ma siamo fatti di ciccia pure noi (tanto più che il Webmastro è in vacanza in Espagna, beato lui...):-P Non ti preoccupare che prima o poi si fa ogni cosa, in questo sito ci sarebbero da rimettere a posto pagine di 10 anni fa e rotti... Sallusti! (ghghghghg :-PP)
Riccardo Venturi - 2015/4/21 - 16:17
Bene bravo bis!
Siccome che quele più ultime le foto c'è lavevano, io mi pensavo che te leri dismenticate...
Mica te l'ametto la fretta a tte, ficurati!
Ciao Miao Bao!
Siccome che quele più ultime le foto c'è lavevano, io mi pensavo che te leri dismenticate...
Mica te l'ametto la fretta a tte, ficurati!
Ciao Miao Bao!
B.B. - 2015/4/21 - 16:24
Ora mi sono ritrovato nel bel mezzo di una danza di schiavi, li ho fatti morire dalle risate poveracci... e anche Bessie Jones ha occupato tutta la parete!
Riccardo Venturi - 2015/4/21 - 16:33
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Note for non-Italian users: Sorry, though the interface of this website is translated into English, most commentaries and biographies are in Italian and/or in other languages like French, German, Spanish, Russian etc.
Versi di Ralph Chaplin
Sulla melodia di The Red Flag
Testo trovato su Political Folk Music Dot Org.
Dalla “Joe Hill Edition” del “Little Red Songbook” dell’Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), edizione speciale dedicata al bardo del movimento operaio, arrestato e detenuto dal gennaio 1914 per un duplice omicidio avvenuto durante una rapina a Salt Lake City alla fine dell’anno precedente.
Una canzone che è una richiesta di mobilitazione in favore di Joel Emmanuel Hägglund, il compagno Joe Hill, accusato ingiustamente di un delitto commesso invece da un immigrato norvegese, tal Magnus Olson, conosciuto nell’ambiente criminale come Frank Z. Wilson, uno dei killer al servizio del famoso gangster Al Capone. Joe Hill fu incriminato perché la sera successiva a quell’episodio si fece curare per un colpo d’arma da fuoco ricevuto – disse - da un rivale in amore.
Eppure già nella seconda strofa (“They’d fill his warrior heart with lead…”) emerge chiaramente la percezione che il destino di Joe Hill fosse segnato, perché il Sistema non vedeva l’ora di liberarsi di un personaggio così scomodo: immigrato, hobo, militante, promotore e cantore dell’IWW…
Va anche detto però che Joe Hill scelse deliberatamente di non difendersi, forse per proteggere il buon nome della ragazza a causa della quale era stato ferito, probabilmente, dall’amico e rivale e conterraneo Otto Appelquist.