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Richard Walker

“Pie in the sky”

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Last night I went to an excellent talk/performance by Will Kaufman, an academic authority on American protest singers, particularly Woody Guthrie, and at the same time a folk singer in his own right. There I learned the origin of the phrase “Pie in the sky”.

Nowadays it generally means a thing that would be rather nice, but isn't very likely to happen. But it comes from a biting satire, “The Preacher and the Slave” written in 1911 by the union organiser Joe Hill.

The tune is “In the Sweet By and By” and the words begin

“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 in voices so sweet

CHORUS:
You will eat, bye and bye
In that glorious land above the sky
Work and pray, live on hay
You’ll get pie in the sky when you die (that’s a lie)”


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