Overview
"Joe Hill", also known as "I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night", is a folk song named after labor activist Joe Hill, which was originally written in poem by Alfred Hayes and composed into music by Earl Robinson in 1936.
Reception
In 2014, the Paul Robeson version of the song was the third-most requested song by British Labour politicians on Desert Island Discs, behind "Jerusalem" and "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika", with the song also chosen by then-party leader Ed Miliband.
Covers and adaptations
Joan Baez performed the song at the Woodstock music festival in 1969 and later included it in her album, One Day at a Time
On International Workers' Day in 2014, at Tampa, Florida, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band opened their show with a cover of the song.
Billy Bragg released a modified version in 1990 called "I Dreamed I Saw Phil Ochs Last Night" about the prolific protest singer from the 1960's.
The High Kings preformed a faster, more upbeat cover of the song while on tour in 2011 and later included it in their album, Live in Ireland.
References
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).