The Ballad Of The Carpenter Lyrics - Live Again! - Phil Ochs

Jesus was a working man 

And a hero you will hear 

Born in the town of Bethlehem 

At the turning of the year 

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 all 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