The Ballad Of The Carpenter

By Ewan MacColl

Dm          C       Dm
Jesus was a working man
           C        Dm
And a hero you will hear
            C       Dm    Am
Born in the town of Bethlehem
       Dm             Gm
At the turning of the year
       A7             Dm
At the turning of the year

When Jesus was a little lad
Streets rang with his name
For he argued with the older men
And put them all to shame
He put them all to shame

He became a wandering journeyman
And he traveled far and wide
And he noticed how wealth and poverty
Live always side by side
Live always side by side

So he said "Come you working men
Farmers and weavers too
If you would only stand as one
This world belongs to you
This world belongs to you"

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
He's a menace to God and man

The commander of the occupying troops
Just laughed and then he said
"There's a cross to spare on Calvaries hill
By the weekend he'll be dead
By the weekend he'll be dead"

Now Jesus walked among the poor
For the poor were his own kind
And they'd never let them get near enough
To take him from behind
To take him from behind

So they hired one of the traders trade
And an informer was he
And he sold his brother to the butchers men
For a fistful of silver money
For a fistful of silver money

And Jesus sat in the prison cell
And they beat him and offered him bribes
To desert the cause of his fellow man
And work for the rich men's tribe,
To work for the rich men's tribe

And the sweat stood out on Jesus' brow
And the blood was in his eye
When 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
Many a hero too
But the dream of this poor carpenter
Remains in the hands of you
Remains in the hands of you

Cody tells me that Phil left out some verses and changed some words, so here are the original lyrics:

 Jesus was a working man, 
 A hero as you shall hear.
 Born in the slums of Bethle-(Am)hem 
 At the turning of the year,
 Yes, the turning of the year.

 When Jesus was a little lad.
 The streets rang with his name,
 For he argued with the aldermen
 And he put them all to shame.
 Yes he...

 He became a wandering journeyman
 And he wandered far and wide,
 And he saw how wealth and poverty
 Lived always side by side,
 Yes...

 He said, "Come all you working men,
 You farmers and weavers, too.
 If you will only organize,
 This world belongs to you,
 Yes...

 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,
 Yes...

 Jesus walked among the poor
 For the poor were his own kind,
 And they wouldn't let the cops get near enough
 To take him from behind,
 Yes...

 So they hired one 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.
 Yes...

 When Jesus lay in the prisoner's cell,
 They beat him and offered him bribes
 To desert the cause of his own dear folk
 And work for the rich men's tribe,
 Yes...

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

 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,
 Yes..

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

Notes:

Chords supplied by Jim Lesses and corrected by Cody Gillespie-Lynch.