Lyr Req: Jesus Was a Workingman / Ewan MacColl?

Subject: Lyr Req: Jesus Was A Workingman/ Ewen McColl?
From: GUEST,Lochinvar
Date: 08 Dec 03 - 01:03 PM

Looking for lyrics to "Jesus Was A Working Man" adapted fro ...Was A Carpenter? Maybe by Ewen McColl. Has verse "Jesus walked/worked among the poor, For the poor were his own kind. And they never let the cops/ Get hold of him/ Or take him from behind (or something like it) Thanks.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE BALLAD OF THE CARPENTER (Ewan MacColl
From: GUEST,Jeremiah McCaw
Date: 08 Dec 03 - 01:55 PM

It's in the Digitrad batabase, but you'd have to know that it's called "THE BALLAD OF THE CARPENTER". Input that now and you'll find several threads on the subject. Meanwhilst:

THE BALLAD OF THE CARPENTER
by Ewan MacColl

Jesus was a working man
And a hero, you shall hear
Born in the slums of Bethelehem
At the turning of the year
At the turning of the year

When Jesus was a little lad
The streets rang with his name
For he argued with the aldermen (older men?)
And he put them all to shame
He put them all to shame

His father he apprenticed him
A carpenter to be
To plane and drill and work with skill
In the town of Galilee
The town of Galilee

He became a roving journeyman
And he wandered far and wide
And he saw how wealth and poverty
Lived always side by side
Always side by side

He said,"Come all you working men,
You farmers and weavers too,
If you will only organise,
The world belongs to you
The world belongs to you"

So the fishermen sent two delegates
And the farmers and weavers too
And they formed a working commitee of twelve
To see the struggle through
To see the struggle through

When the rich men heard what the carpenter had done
To the Roman troops they ran
Saying "Put this rebel Jesus down
He's a menace to God and man
Menace to God and man"

The commander of the occupying troops
He laughed and then he said,
"There's a cross to spare on Cavalry Hill
By the weekend he'll be dead,
By the weekend he'll be dead.

Jesus walked among the poor
For the poor were his own kind
And they never let the cops get close enough
To take him from behind
Oh, to take him from behind.

So they hired a man of the traitor's trade
And a stool pigeon was he
And he sold his brother to the butcher's men
For a fistful of silver money
A fistful of money.

When Jesus stood in the prison cell
They beat him and offered him bribes
To desert the cause of his own poor folk
And work for the rich men's tribe
Work for the rich men's tribe.

The sweat stood out upon his brow
And the blood was in his eye
And they nailed his body to the Roman cross
And they laughed as they watched him die,
They laughed as they watched him die.

Two thousand years have passed and gone
And many a hero too,
But the dream of this poor carpenter
At last is coming true.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jesus Was A Workingman/ Ewen McColl?
From: Nancy King
Date: 08 Dec 03 - 06:53 PM

I didn't find it in the Digitrad (looked under B for Ballad, C for Carpenter, and J for Jesus...), but there was a thread on it a while back. Not a whole lot of additional information, though.

A couple of notes on the lyrics posted above:

Yes, it is "aldermen." MacColl used a lot of modern terms in this song, which envisions Jesus as a labor organizer. What a concept!

And, er, it's "Calvary Hill," not "Cavalry Hill."

Fantastic song!

Cheers, Nancy

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jesus Was A Workingman/ Ewen McColl?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 08 Dec 03 - 07:47 PM

If somebody wants to e-mail me a MIDI or Noteworthy file or a scan of the tune, I'll be glad to post it. The song has now been harvested for the Digital Tradition.
-Joe Offer
[e-mail]

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jesus Was a Workingman / Ewan MacColl?
From: Felipa
Date: 11 Apr 21 - 10:16 PM

I heard Jean Ritchie's rendition of Jackaroe on the Rainbow Quest video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3L6jBTuFAyk and it struck me that Ewan MacColl may well have got inspiration for the tune and structure of The Ballad of the Carpenter from that song.

He certainly knew the song - Ewan MacColl singing along with Peggy Seeger

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jesus Was a Workingman / Ewan MacColl?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 12 Apr 21 - 07:16 AM

I had this on a record, growing up. Pgil Ochs? Cisco Houston? A male tenor, not Pete Seeger, I don't think. Can't remember. Did not have all the verses.

Subject: RE:Ballad of the Carpenter/ Ewan MacColl
From: GUEST,Felipa
Date: 12 Apr 21 - 08:34 AM

Phil Ochs recorded Ballad of the Carpenter, Mrrzy. I also heard his rendition >50 years ago.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jesus Was a Workingman / Ewan MacColl?
From: GerryM
Date: 12 Apr 21 - 08:56 AM

Yes, Phil Ochs, on his 2nd album (I Ain't Marching Any More), 1965.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jesus Was a Workingman / Ewan MacColl?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 12 Apr 21 - 01:07 PM

Bingo. Thanks. Who needs memory when I have you?