If I Had A Hammer (Live At Wattstax / 1972)

Fifteen years ago Lee Hays and I wrote a song

And we never expected it would be widely sung

Perhaps me and a few more

But lo and behold

Two years ago a young rock and roller made a record of it

The song is all around the world now

Now the interesting thing is

That there's not only two ways of singing this song

There's about five or six different ways

But I've found that they nearly all harmonize with each other

Now there's a moral here somewhere

It means that you can sing it the way I wrote it

Or you wait and sing it the way somebody else changed it

Or the way somebody else changed it

And they all harmonize together

If I had a hammer

I'd hammer in the morning (Hammer in the evening)

I'd hammer in the evening (Over)

All over this land (Hammer out danger)

I'd hammer out danger (Danger, hammer out a warning)

I'd hammer out a warning (Hammer out love)

I'd hammer out love between my brothers and my sisters

All over this land (If I had a bell)

If I had a bell (I'd ring it the morning)

I'd ring it in the morning (I'd ring it in the evening)

I'd ring it in the evening (Over)

All over this land (I'd ring out danger)

I'd ring out danger (Danger, I'd ring out a warning)

I'd ring out a warning (Ring out love)

I'd ring out love between my brothers and my sisters

All over this land (If I had a song)

If I had a song (I'd sing it in the morning)

I'd sing it in the morning (I'd sing it in the evening)

I'd sing it in the evening (Over)

All over this land (I'd sing out danger)

I'd sing out danger (Sing out a warning)

I'd sing out a warning (Sing out love)

I'd sing out love between my brothers and my sisters

All over this land (Well, I've got a hammer)

Well, I've got a hammer (And I've got a bell)

And I've got a bell (And I got a song to sing)

And I got a song to sing (Over)

All over this land (It's the hammer of justice)

It's the hammer of justice (Justice, the bell of freedom)

It's the bell of freedom (Song about love)

It's the song about love between my brothers and my sisters

All over this land