The Preacher and the Slave
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 [You will eat] bye and bye [bye and bye][1]
In that glorious land above the sky [Way up high][2]
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!]
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[3]
If you fight hard for children and wife-[4]
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[5] 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 [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]
[edit] Notes
- ↑ The chorus and the final verse are sung in a call and response pattern.
- ↑ This line is sometimes changed to "In that glorious land up in the sky."
- ↑ This line is sometimes changed to "And you will eat on that glorious day."
- ↑ This verse is often omitted when sung today, possibly because of the words "children and wife."
- ↑ "Workingmen" is usually changed to "working folks" when sung today.
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This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1923.
The author died in 1915, so this work is also in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 80 years or less. This work may also be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works. |
