"The Tramp" (1913) is – together with "

The Preacher and the Slave "The Preacher and the Slave" is a song written by Joe Hill in 1911. It was written as a parody of the hymn "In the Sweet By-and-By". Copying or using the musical style of the hymn was also a way to capture the emotional resonance of that style o ...

" – one of labor organizer Joe Hill's most well-known songs. The lyrics tell about an able-bodied but unemployed man who wanders around looking for work, but is not welcome anywhere – even in church,

Heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...

, and

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...

– and thus must "keep on a-tramping". The tune is borrowed from the song "

Tramp! Tramp! Tramp! "Tramp! Tramp! Tramp! (The Prisoner's Hope)" was one of the most popular songs of the American Civil War. George F. Root wrote both the words and music and published it in 1864 to give hope to the Union prisoners of war. The song is written from ...

", an American Civil War song written in the 1860s by military songwriter

George F. Root George Frederick Root (August 30, 1820August 6, 1895) was an American songwriter, who found particular fame during the American Civil War, with songs such as "Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!" and "The Battle Cry of Freedom". He is regarded as the first Ame ...

. Root wrote it for Union soldiers, but the song was so popular that Confederate soldiers wrote their own words, and both sides sang it while marching. That song has appeared in several movies, including '' Gone with the Wind'', and the tune is well-known today as the melody of the Sunday School standard "

Jesus Loves the Little Children A Christian child's prayer is Christian prayer recited primarily by children that is typically short, rhyming, or has a memorable tune. It is usually said before bedtime, to give thanks for a meal, or as a nursery rhyme. Many of these prayers a ...

". "The Tramp" was first published in the Mar 6, 1913 edition (fifth edition) of the '' Little Red Songbook'' of the

Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines genera ...

(also known as the Wobblies). The Wobblies used songs – parodies set to traditional melodies – to help unionize workers. Hill wrote more than 25 such songs and was considered one of the Wobblies' best lyricists.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tramp, The Trade union songs Songs about poverty Songs about homelessness Songs with lyrics by Joe Hill (activist) 1913 songs

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