"The Preacher and the Slave" is a song written by Joe Hill

Joe Hill

Joe Hill, born Joel Emmanuel Hägglund in Gävle , and also known as Joseph Hillström was a Swedish-American labor activist, songwriter, and member of the Industrial Workers of the World...

 in 1911. It was written as a parody

Parody

A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...

 of the hymn "In the Sweet Bye and Bye". The Industrial Workers of the World

Industrial Workers of the World

The Industrial Workers of the World is an international union. At its peak in 1923, the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. Its membership declined dramatically after a 1924 split brought on by internal conflict...

 (commonly known as the Wobblies) concentrated much of its labor trying to organize migrant worker

Migrant worker

The term migrant worker has different official meanings and connotations in different parts of the world. The United Nations' definition is broad, including any people working outside of their home country...

s in lumber

Lumber

Lumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....

 and construction

Construction

In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...

 camps. When the workers returned to the cities, the Wobblies faced the Salvation Army

Salvation Army

The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....

 (which they satirized as the "Starvation Army"). Hill had first encountered the Salvation Army in Sweden when he was a child.

Several songs were written parodying the Salvation Army's hymns, "The Preacher and the Slave" being the most successful. In this song, Joe Hill coined the phrase "pie in the sky." The song is often referred to as "Pie in the Sky", or as "Long Haired Preachers" (which was its original title). It was first published in the 4th edition of the Little Red Songbook

Little Red Songbook

thumb|180px|right|The Little Red SongbookSince the founding of the Industrial Workers of the World, also known as the IWW, songs have played a big part in spreading the message of the One Big Union...

in 1911.

Lyrics and style

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

Chorus

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

(Chorus)

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

(Chorus)

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.

(Chorus)

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

Chorus (modified)

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

Call and response (music)

In music, a call and response is a succession of two distinct phrases usually played by different musicians, where the second phrase is heard as a direct commentary on or response to the first...

 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, probably because of the reference to "children and wife" not being gender-neutral

Gender-neutral language

Gender-neutral language, gender-inclusive language, inclusive language, or gender neutrality is linguistic prescriptivism that aims to eliminate reference to gender in terms that describe people...

. Other variations include changing the second line of the chorus to "In that glorious land up in the sky" and the last line of the third verse to "And you will eat on that glorious day." Workingmen is normally changed to working folks, as well. The above lyrics are from the 19th edition of the Little Red Songbook.

External links

• http://www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/parton/2/pie.html
• http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/anarchism/songs/usa/joehill/longhairedpreachers.html
• Text of the 1916 songbook