James Dean Cotton - Joe (He Was a Fighter) Lyrics

Joe, he was a fighter, defender of the working man
Rallied up the AFL-CIO
The miners and the movement, echoes of his hand
'Cause Joe, he was a fighter, defender of the working man

Born in Old St. Louie, just north of old Carr Square
A middle son of recent immigrants
His father was a tailor, in the tenement's repair
And he learned the hard way, life ain't ever fair

Joe, he was a fighter, defender of the working man
Rallied up the AFL-CIO
The miners and the movement, the echoes of his hand
'Cause Joe, he was a fighter, defender of the working man

I heard he worked at fourteen, as a bookie down on Grand
I heard he rode the rails for awhile
I heard came back humbled at the age of 23
Applied as a pipefitter for Laclede Gas Company

He organized the miners, organized the rage
Became the voice of ordinary men
Lost a wife to cancer, a son to a snowy grade
He was forty years a leader, in a forty-year crusade

Joe, he was a fighter, defender of the working man
Rallied up the AFL-CIO
The miners and the movement, the echoes of his hand
Yeah, he was a fighter, defender of the working man

He died in Colorado, in the flood of '76
The Big Thompson claimed 144
His spirit is the spirit of a living wage demand
A hell of a fighter, defender of the working man

Joe, he was a fighter, defender of the working man
Rallied up the AFL-CIO
The miners and the movement, still echo through this land
'Cause Joe, he was a fighter, defender of the working man

Joe, he was a fighter, defender of the working man