Tune: It Looks Like a Big Night Tonight (1908), by Harry Williams and Egbert Van Alstyne, 1908; new union lyrics by Joel Emmanuel Hägglund (Joe Hill), ca 1913; performed by Utah Phillips and Mark Ross - From the album, IWW Rebel Voices: Songs Of The Industrial Workers Of The World, 1987
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Lyrics:
Please give me your attention; I’ll introduce to you
A man that is a credit to our “Red, White, and Blue.”
His head is made of lumber and solid as a rock.
He is a common worker, and his name is Mister Block.
And Block, he thinks he may
Be president some day.
Oh, Mister Block, you were born by mistake.
You take the cake.
You make me ache.
Tie a rock on your block and then jump in the lake.
Kindly do that for liberty’s sake.
Yes, Mister Block is lucky; he found a job, by gee!
The shark got seven dollars for job and fare and fee.
They shipped him to a desert and dumped him with his truck.
But when he tried to find his job, he sure was out of luck.
He shouted, “That’s too raw!
I’ll fix them with the law!”
Oh, Mister Block, you were born by mistake.
You take the cake.
You make me ache.
Tie a rock on your block and then jump in the lake.
Kindly do that for liberty’s sake.
Block hiked back to the city but wasn’t doing well.
He said, “I’ll join the union: the great A. F. of L.”
He got a job next morning; got fired in the night.
He said, “I’ll see Sam Gompers, and he’ll fix that foreman right.”
Sam Gompers said, “You see!
You’ve got our sympathy!”
Oh, Mister Block, you were born by mistake.
You take the cake.
You make me ache.
Tie a rock on your block and then jump in the lake.
Kindly do that for liberty’s sake.
Election Day, he shouted, “A Socialist for May’r!”
The ‘comrade’ got elected: He happy was for fair.
But after the election, he got an awful shock:
A great big ‘socialistic’ bull did rap him on the block.
And Comrade Block did sob,
“I helped him to his job!”
Oh, Mister Block, you were born by mistake.
You take the cake.
You make me ache.
Tie a rock on your block and then jump in the lake.
Kindly do that for liberty’s sake.
The money kings in Cuba blew up the gunship Maine,
But Block got awful angry and blamed it all on Spain.
He went right into battle, and there he lost his leg.
And now he’s peddling shoestrings and is walking on a peg.
He shouts, “Remember Maine!
Hurrah! To hell with Spain!”
Oh, Mister Block, you were born by mistake.
You take the cake.
You make me ache.
Tie a rock on your block and then jump in the lake.
Kindly do that for liberty’s sake.
Poor Block, he died one ev’ning (I’m very glad to state!).
He climbed the golden ladder up to the Pearly Gate.
He said, “Oh, Mister Peter, one word I’d like to tell:
I’d like to meet the Astorbilts and John D. Rockefell’.”
Old Pete said, “Is that so?
You’ll meet them down below!”
Oh, Mister Block, you were born by mistake.
You take the cake.
You make me ache.
Tie a rock on your block and then jump in the lake.
Kindly do that for liberty’s sake.