Artist:
Coco Brown

Description:

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Oil on canvas by M. Baer, 1918, rendered from Hill's mug shot shortly before his execution. Courtesy of Reuther Library, Detroit. Click for 1927 little red songbook.

A pamphlet, no matter how good, is never read more than once, but a song is learned by heart and repeated over and over.

Joe Hill

Joel Hägglund, the son of a railroad worker, was born in Sweden in 1879. He immigrated to the United States in 1902 and drifted in search of work. He was a mechanic, worked on the docks, stacked wheat, mined copper, and began writing poems and songs about his experiences. He changed his name to Joseph Hilstrom and became known as Joe Hill.

In 1910 he joined the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) in San Pedro California, and began writing songs like Casey Jones -- the Union Scab.

Joe writes songs that sing, that lilt and laugh and sparkle, that kindle the fires of revolt ... He has put into words the inarticulate craving of "the sailor, and the tailor, and the lumberjack" for freedom, nor does he forget "the pretty girls that's making curls" ... He has crystallized the organization's spirit into imperishable forms, songs of the people -- folk songs.

Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Solidarity, May 22, 1915

In 1914 Joe Hill was organizing for the IWW in Utah, where the radical workers group was under ferocious attack by the mining companies and the authorities. He was framed on a charge of murdering a shopkeeper, and convicted despite one of the most unfair trials on record. Protests grew across the US and around the world, but the Utah governor rejected pleas for justice from, among many others, the Swedish Minister to the US, Helen Keller, and President woodrow Wilson.

On the eve of his execution, Joe sent two telegrams to Big Bill Haywood, the IWW leader. The first read, "Goodbye Bill. I will die like a true blue rebel. Don't waste any time mourning. Organize." The second -- "It is only a hundred miles from here to Wyoming. Could you arrange to have my body hauled to the state line to be buried? I don't want to be found dead in Utah." Sitting on the cot of his cell, he penned his Last Will

On the morning of November 19, 1915, Joe Hill was executed by firing squad. Joe's body was taken to Chicago where 30,000 took part in the funeral service. His cremated remains were placed in envelopes and distributed to be scattered in all states of the US, except Utah, and in countries around the world.

Even in death, Joe Hill was seen as dangerous. One envelope, with a photo attached captioned "Joe Hill murdered by the capitalist class," was seized by the US Post Office in 1917 for its "subversive potential." The ashes, but not the envelope, were returned to the IWW in 1988.

In 1925 poet Alfred Hayes wrote Joe Hill. In 1936, he gave the lyrics to Earl Robinson at Camp Unity, a left-wing summer camp in New York State, for a campfire program of Hill's songs. Robinson wrote the music. That year it was performed at the New Orleans Labor Council, on a San Francisco picket line, and in Spain by members of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. Its popularity with a new generation was assured when it was performed at Woodstock in 1969 by Joan Baez.

Coco Brown . . .
I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night
Alfred Hayes, Earl Robinson

Listen at 56k || Listen at 256k

Joe Hill's will, handed to a prison guard the night before his execution. Archives of the Communist Party USA, Tamiment Library, New York University. Click to enlarge.

I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night,
Alive as you or me
Says I, "But Joe, you're ten years dead,"
"I never died," says he
"I never died," says he.

"In Salt Lake, Joe," says I to him,
Him standing by my bed,
"They framed you on a murder charge,"
Says Joe, "But I ain't dead,"
Says Joe, "But I ain't dead."

"The copper bosses killed you, Joe,
They shot you, Joe," says I.
"Takes more than guns to kill a man,"
Says Joe, "I didn't die,"
Says Joe, "I didn't die."

And standing there as big as life
And smiling with his eyes
Joe says, "What they forgot to kill
Went on to organize,
Went on to organize."

"Joe Hill ain't dead," he says to me,
"Joe Hill ain't never died.
Wherever workers go on strike
Joe Hill is at their side,
Joe Hill is at their side."

Coco Brown. Photo: Bryant Didier.

"From San Diego up to Maine,
In every mine and mill,
Where workers strike and organize,"
Says he, "You'll find Joe Hill,"
Says he, "You'll find Joe Hill."

I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night,
Alive as you or me
Says I, "But Joe, you're ten years dead,"
"I never died," says he
"I never died," says he.

Coco Brown, lead vocals; Gail Berry, Michael Dunston, Lorraine Scott, Bryant Didier, Coco Brown, backing vocals; Denis Keldie, piano, accordion, mandolin; Paul Antonio, drums; Russ Williams, guitars; Bryant Didier, strings, acoustic bass.

Mixing and mastering: Bryant Didier; liner notes, Tony Leah.

This track is one of 10 in a remarkable compilation of Karaoke Union Songs. Co-produced by the Steelworkers and People's Progressive Karaoke, the audio/karaoke CD has two versions of each song, one with and one without lead vocals. A karaoke player will display the lyrics. Purchase it here.

Music Archives

May 2007
Coco Brown

I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night

Alfred Hayes, Earl Robinson
Oil on canvas: M. Baer

April 2007
Ry Cooder

Strike!

Traditional, new verses by Ry Cooder
Drawing: Vincent Valdez

March 2007
Teresa Healy, Tom Juravich

Bread and Roses

by James Oppenheim, Tom Juravich
Painting: Ralph Fasanella

February 2007
Detroit Cultural Workers and Artists Caucus

Walking 500 Days

by Bob Vasseur
Photos: Pat Beck, Daymon Hartley

January 2007
New York City Labor Chorus

Ode To Workers

by Friedrich Schiller, L. V. Beethoven, Jeff Vogel

December 2006
Charlie Bernhardt

Children Of Abraham

by John McCutcheon
Photo: Jerry Anderson

November 2006
Ted Warmbrand

Who's The Criminal

by Ted Warmbrand
Photo: Mizue Aiseki

October 2006
Woody Guthrie

Buffalo Skinners

by Woody Guthrie
Painting: Neil Waldman.

September 2006
Freedom Song Network

Rockin' Solidarity

by Ralph Chaplin, David Welsh
Painting: Irving Fromer.