Lyrks
Lyrks
Lyrks
Cover Art

The Preacher and the Slave Lyrics by Joe Hill

0

[Verse 1]
Long-haired preachers come out every night
Try to tell you what's wrong and what's right
But when asked about something to eat
They will answer with voices so sweet:
[Chorus]
You will eat (You will eat) bye and bye (Bye and bye)
In that glorious land above the sky (Way up high)
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!)
[Verse 2]
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 are on the bum
[Chorus]
You will eat (You will eat) bye and bye (Bye and bye)
In that glorious land above the sky (Way up high)
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!)
[Verse 3]
Holy Rollers and jumpers come out
They holler, they jump and they shout
Give your money to Jesus they say
He will cure all diseases away
[Chorus]
You will eat (You will eat) bye and bye (Bye and bye)
In that glorious land above the sky (Way up high)
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!)
[Verse 4]
If you fight hard for children and wife
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
[Chorus]
You will eat (You will eat) bye and bye (Bye and bye)
In that glorious land above the sky (Way up high)
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!)
[Verse 4]
Working folk 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:
[Chorus]
You will eat (You will eat) bye and bye (Bye and bye)
When you've learned how to cook and how to fry (and bake a pie!)
Chop some wood, 'twill do you good
And you'll eat in the sweet bye and bye (That's no lie!)
Credits
Joe Hill

Joe Hill

About “The Preacher and the Slave” by Joe Hill

Read the complete lyrics to "The Preacher and the Slave" by Joe Hill. On Lyrks you can follow along with the full text, explore the artist's discography, and discover related songs. The track is often categorized under Folk, Country, American Folk.

"The Preacher and the Slave" is performed by Joe Hill. This page provides the full lyric text for fans who want to sing along, study the songwriting, or compare versions across releases. Lyrks organizes lyrics by artist and song slug so you can bookmark and share a stable URL. Music lyrics help listeners connect with emotion, narrative, and rhythm in a track. Whether you are learning English, researching a favorite chorus, or preparing for karaoke, having accurate line breaks and section labels (verse, chorus, bridge) makes the experience easier. We link to the official artist profile on Lyrks where available, including biography snippets, top songs, and chart placements when we have that data. If you enjoy "The Preacher and the Slave", explore more songs by Joe Hill using the links below. Chart and trending pages on Lyrks highlight what listeners are searching for this week. For copyright or correction requests, see our DMCA and contact pages.

View all songs and biography for Joe Hill · Trending lyrics · Billboard Hot 100

Frequently asked questions

"The Preacher and the Slave" is credited to Joe Hill. Songwriting credits may include additional writers listed on the release; check the credits section on this page for linked collaborators.

Album information for "The Preacher and the Slave" is not available in our database yet. You can still read the full lyrics on this page.

Visit the Joe Hill artist page at /artist/joe-hill for biography, popular tracks, and links to more lyric pages.