The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #96529 Message #1888736
Posted By: Joe Offer
20-Nov-06 - 12:51 AM
Thread Name: Origins:Jesus Christ / Jesse James (Woody Guthrie)
Subject: ADD Version: Jesus Christ Was a Man (W. Guthrie)
The lyrics I have are quite different from those in the Digital Tradition, but the DT version is very close to the lyrics in The [Nearly] Complete Collection of Woody Guthrie Folk Songs (Ludlow Music, 1963). Are both sets of lyrics legitimate? -Joe-
Jesus Christ Was a Man (Woody Guthrie)
Jesus Christ was a man that traveled through the land, A Carpenter true and brave; He said to the rich, "Give your goods to the poor", So they laid Jesus Christ in his grave.
Chorus Yes Jesus was a man, a Carpenter by Hand, A Carpenter true and brave. And a dirty little coward called Judas Iscariot, He laid Jesus Christ in His grave.
The people of the land took Jesus by the Hand, They followed Him far and wide; "I come not to bring you Peace, but a Sword." So they killed Jesus Christ on the sly.
He went to the sick and He went to the poor, He went to the hungry and the lame; He said that the poor would win this world, So they laid Jesus Christ in His grave.
One day Jesus stopped at a rich man's door, "What must I do to be saved?" "You must sell your goods and give it to the poor", So they laid Jesus Christ in His grave.
They nailed Him there to die on a cross in the sky, In the lightning and thunder and rain; And Judas Iscariot he committed suicide, When they laid poor Jesus in his grave.
This wide wicked world of soldiers and slaves, Rich man, poor man and thief; If Jesus was to preach what He preached in Galilee, They would lay Jesus Christ in His grave.
When the love of the poor shall turn into hate, When the patience of the workers gives away; "Twould be better for you rich if you'd never been born" For you laid Jesus Christ in His grave.
from Hard Hitting Songs for Hard-Hit People, by Alan Lomax, Woody Guthrie, and Pete Seeger (Oak Publications, 1967)