by steveliu » Thu Jan 01, 2009 8:08 am
While it's not a hymn per se, here are the lyrics you're looking for historical purposes. It was a parody version of the hymn by Makay/Husband that was sung by migratory workers in the United States of the late 1890's.
Hallelujah, I'm a Bum
1. Oh, why don't you work
Like other men do?
How the **** can I work
When there's no work to do?
Hallelujah, I'm a bum,
Hallelujah, bum again,
Hallelujah, give us a handout,
To revive us again!
2. Oh, I love my boss
And my boss loves me,
And that is the reason
I'm so hungry,
Hallelujah, etc.
3. Oh, the springtime has came
And I'm just out of jail,
Without any money,
Without any bail.
Hallelujah, etc.
4. I went to a house,
And I knocked on the door;
A lady came out, says,
"You been here before."
Hallelujah, etc.
5. I went to a house,
And I asked for a piece of bread;
A lady came out, says,
"The baker is dead."
Hallelujah, etc.
6. When springtime does come,
O won't we have fun,
We'll throw up our jobs
And we'll go on the bum.
Hallelujah, etc.
Here's some commentary on the lyrics by writer Carl Sandburg:
"This old song heard at the water tanks of railroads in Kansas in 1897 and from harvest hands who worked in the wheat fields of Pawnee County, was picked up later by the I.W. W.'s, who made verses of their own for it, and gave it a wide fame. The migratory workers are familiar with the Salvation Army missions, and have adopted the Army custom of occasionally abandoning all polite formalities and striking deep into the common things and ways for their music and words. A "handout" is food handed out from a back door as distinguished from a "a sit down" which means an entrance into a house and a chair at a table."
While it's not a hymn per se, here are the lyrics you're looking for historical purposes. It was a parody version of the hymn by Makay/Husband that was sung by migratory workers in the United States of the late 1890's.
Hallelujah, I'm a Bum
1. Oh, why don't you work
Like other men do?
How the **** can I work
When there's no work to do?
Hallelujah, I'm a bum,
Hallelujah, bum again,
Hallelujah, give us a handout,
To revive us again!
2. Oh, I love my boss
And my boss loves me,
And that is the reason
I'm so hungry,
Hallelujah, etc.
3. Oh, the springtime has came
And I'm just out of jail,
Without any money,
Without any bail.
Hallelujah, etc.
4. I went to a house,
And I knocked on the door;
A lady came out, says,
"You been here before."
Hallelujah, etc.
5. I went to a house,
And I asked for a piece of bread;
A lady came out, says,
"The baker is dead."
Hallelujah, etc.
6. When springtime does come,
O won't we have fun,
We'll throw up our jobs
And we'll go on the bum.
Hallelujah, etc.
Here's some commentary on the lyrics by writer Carl Sandburg:
[quote]"This old song heard at the water tanks of railroads in Kansas in 1897 and from harvest hands who worked in the wheat fields of Pawnee County, was picked up later by the I.W. W.'s, who made verses of their own for it, and gave it a wide fame. The migratory workers are familiar with the Salvation Army missions, and have adopted the Army custom of occasionally abandoning all polite formalities and striking deep into the common things and ways for their music and words. A "handout" is food handed out from a back door as distinguished from a "a sit down" which means an entrance into a house and a chair at a table."[/quote]