Lyr ADD: The Mill Was Made of Marble (Joe Glazer)

Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Mill Was Made of Marble (Joe Glazer)
From: cnd
Date: 17 Apr 23 - 08:42 PM

(PS, Laurie Lewis and Grant Street have a beautiful, gospel harmony style version of this song)

Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Mill Was Made of Marble (Joe Glazer)
From: cnd
Date: 17 Apr 23 - 08:41 PM

I know it's primarily a labor relation song, but do you think it would be possible to characterize this as a Christian song? It of course has the bittersweet feeling that, even in death, a man can think of Heaven as nothing more than another place to work, albeit nicer, but I think generally it's not so negative as to preclude it from being sung in a service, with a Christian intention or message.

Thoughts?

Subject: ADD: The Mill Was Made of Marble (Joe Glazer)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 05 Jul 17 - 01:53 AM

THE MILL WAS MADE OF MARBLE
(Joe Glazer)

I dreamed that I had died
And gone to my reward
A job in heaven's textile plant
On a golden boulevard

CHORUS
Where the mill was made of marble
The machines were made out gold
And nobody ever got tired
And nobody ever grew old

Now, this mill was built in the garden
No dust or lint could be found
And the air was so fresh and so fragrant
With flowers and grass (trees) all around

And the mill was made of marble
The machines were made out gold
And nobody ever got tired
And nobody ever grew old

It was quiet and peaceful in heaven
There was no clatter or boom
You could hear the most beautiful music
As you worked at the spindle and loom

And the mill was made of marble
The machines were made out gold
And nobody ever got tired
And nobody ever grew old

There was no unemployment in heaven
We worked steady all through the year
We always had food for the children
We never were haunted by fear

And the mill was made of marble
The machines were made out gold
And nobody ever got tired
And nobody ever grew old

When I awoke from this dream about heaven
I wondered if someday there'd be
A mill like that one down below here on earth
For workers like you and like me

Where the mill was made of marble
The machines were made out gold
Where nobody ever gets tired
And nobody ever grows old

Where nobody ever gets tired
And nobody ever grows old


Glazer confirms that he wrote this song, and he says that it is his favorite of the songs he wrote.

Transcribed from this Joe Glazer YouTube recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYJey4saRHU

Here's another Joe Glazer recording. It uses the same chorus in all verses, with no change in the final chorus. It also has the word "trees" where I've shown it in parentheses above. Here's the recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnjga3pKT5Q

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Mill Was Made of Marble
From: GUEST,saulgoldie
Date: 21 Sep 07 - 10:35 AM

Thanks, Peace.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Mill Was Made of Marble
From: voyager
Date: 20 Sep 07 - 12:24 PM

Takoma Park Folk Festival last weekend featured a rousing tribute to "Labor's Troubador", Joe Glazer. A 'hallelujah choir' rendition of 'The Mill Was Made of Marble' featured the DC Labor Choir, Oscar Brand, Emma's Revolution, Joe Uehline and a rousing audience sing-a-long. Mildred Glazer was 'first lady' for this event.

I think Joe might have heard us!

Cheers
voyager

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Mill Was Made of Marble
From: Peace
Date: 19 Sep 07 - 06:12 PM

From RON OLESKO's site.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE MILL WAS MADE OF MARBLE (Joe Glazer)
From: Peace
Date: 19 Sep 07 - 06:10 PM

THE MILL WAS MADE OF MARBLE
(Joe Glazer)

Well , I dreamed that I had died
And gone to my reward
A job in heaven's textile mill
On a golden boulevard

CHORUS
And the mill was made out of marble
The machines were made out gold
And nobody ever grew tired
And nobody ever grew old

The mill was built on a garden
No dust nor dirt could be found
The air was clean and it smelled so sweet
With the flowers and the trees all around

It was quiet and peaceful in heaven
There was no clatter or boom
And we heard the most beautiful music
As we worked at the spindle and the loom

And the mill was made out of marble
The machines were made out gold
And nobody ever grew tired
And nobody ever grew old

There was no unemployment in heaven
We worked steady all through the year
We always had food for the children
We were never haunted by fear

And the mill was made out of marble
The machines were made out gold
And nobody ever grew tired
And nobody ever grew old

When I awoke from my dream about heaven
Well, I wondered if there could be
A Mill like that one here on earth
For people like you and me

And the mill was made out of marble
The machines were made out gold
And nobody ever grew tired
And nobody ever grew old

And the mill was made out of marble
The machines were made out gold
And nobody ever grew tired
And nobody ever grew old

from www.ronstadtramirez.com/TheMill.htm

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Mill Was Made of Marble
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 19 Sep 07 - 04:41 PM

It's on page 188 of my copy of "Carry it on" - Pete Seeger and Bob Reiser, just as Masato said. Copyright Joe Glazer 1960.

Kitty

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Mill Was Made of Marble
From: Big Mick
Date: 19 Sep 07 - 10:13 AM

Yep, it is a Glazer song and I have it in a collection of Glazer songs somewhere.

Mick

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Mill Was Made of Marble
From: Jeri
Date: 19 Sep 07 - 09:39 AM

The earlier song was the 'Banks' one. Apparently this is a folk song written by Joe Glazer.

From The New York Times:

Unions Must Once Again Go On to Organize; The Marble Mill

Published: September 22, 1992

To the Editor:

"The Mills Weren't Made of Marble" (editorial, Sept. 7), your Labor Day commentary on the Lowell National Historical Park, which has recycled a mill into a museum, portrays the harsh lives of textile workers in the 1800's. "These mills," you write, "were not, like those in the old folk song, made out of marble nor the machines made out of gold."

I wrote "The Mill Was Made of Marble," a song about the dream of a textile worker, in 1947, when I was on the staff of the C.I.O. Textile Workers Union, so it is not as old as you imply.

In the normal course of events a song is not considered a folk song until the composer has been long gone from this earth and the song, as the professional scholars say, enters tradition. This is the ultimate gift a people can give a creative artist. So I thank you for characterizing my song as an "old folk song." It is a nice Labor Day present. JOE GLAZER Chevy Chase, Md., Sept. 7, 1992

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Mill Was Made of Marble
From: masato sakurai
Date: 19 Sep 07 - 09:30 AM

According to Folk Music Index, "The Mill Was Made of Marble" is in:

Fowke, Edith & Joe Glazer (eds.) / Songs of Work and Protest, Dover, Sof (1973/1960), trk# p 76
Blood, Peter; and Annie Patterson (eds.) / Rise Up Singing, Sing Out, Sof (1992/1989), p256
Sandburg, Helga (ed.) / Sweet Music, Dial, Bk (1963), p155
Seeger, Pete; and Bob Reiser (eds.) / Carry It On!, Simon & Schuster, Sof (1985), p188
Song Book of the AFL-CIO, AFL, sof (198?), p28.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Mill Was Made of Marble
From: Charley Noble
Date: 19 Sep 07 - 09:08 AM

Les-

No, the earlier song was titled "The Mill was Made of Marble."

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Mill Was Made of Marble
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 19 Sep 07 - 08:53 AM

Is the song; The Banks are made of Marble?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Mill Was Made of Marble
From: Big Mick
Date: 19 Sep 07 - 08:32 AM

Saul, I believe I have this in an AFL-CIO songbook. I am currently organizing in South Dakota but will check when I get home to Michigan this weekend.

Mick

Subject: Lyr Req: The Mill Was Made of Marble
From: saulgoldie
Date: 19 Sep 07 - 08:12 AM

Hello all,
I have a recording of this great song by the late, great Joe Glazer. But I don't have it transcribed. I could do it myself. But I was wondering if someone else may have already done it, and could save me the trouble. I already did a web search, and they didn't turn up. Thanks.

Saul