Also one of Joe Hill's more famous songs, written in 1913, and set to the tune of an American Civil War ballad called "Tramp Tramp Tramp".
lf you all will shut your trap,
I will tell you 'bout a chap,
That was broke and up against it too, for fair;
He was not the kind to shirk,
He was looking hard for work,
But he heard the same old story everywhere.
Chorus:
Tramp, tramp, tramp, keep on a-tramping,
Nothing doing here for you;
If I catch you 'round again,
You will wear the ball and chain,
Keep on tramping, that's the best thing you can do.
He walked up and down the street,
Till the shoes fell off his feet.
In a house he spied a lady cooking stew,
And he said, "How do you do,
May I chop some wood for you?"
What the lady told him made him feel so blue.
This song was originally posted on protestsonglyrics.net
Chorus
'Cross the street a sign he read,
"Work for Jesus" so it said,
And he said, "Here is my chance, I'll surely try,"
And he kneeled upon the floor,
Till his knees got rather sore,
But at eating-time he heard the preacher cry...
Chorus
Down the street he met a cop,
And the copper made him stop,
And he asked him, "When did you blow into town?
Come with me up to the judge,"
But the judge he said, "Oh fudge,
Bums that have no money needn't come around."
This song was originally posted on protestsonglyrics.net
Chorus
Finally came that happy day
When his life did pass away,
He was sure he'd go to heaven when he died,
When he reached the pearly gate,
Santa Peter, mean old skate,
Slammed the gate right in his face and loudly cried:
Chorus
Sung by Joe Glazer and Bill Friedland, as well as John McCutcheon, Willard Losinger, and Lew Bear, with a different tune. I'm most partial to Glazer and Friedland's cover, although Lew Bear's cover has some good animation.