We all know the moon’s made of green cheese, but what’s the deal with the pie in the sky? The idiom pie in the sky, referring to something that’s pleasant to imagine but unattainable, comes from an early 20th century song called “The Preacher and the Slave,” penned and popularized by labor organizer Joe Hill. The song parodied the hymn “The Sweet By and By,” which promised a heavenly reward after death. Hill’s song sarcastically made the point there’s need for help here on Earth, too. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Pie in the Sky Origin”
Hello, you have A Way with Words.
Hello, my name is Dan. I’m from Boyd, Wisconsin.
I was calling, I heard a debate a while ago. I’m real big into listening to that. I’m up in Minnesota.
And there was a gentleman on there that stated that he didn’t like his pie-in-the-sky approach to things. And, you know, in context, you kind of figure out kind of what he means by it.
So I was kind of wondering what the whole pie in the sky thing really meant, where it came from, et cetera, et cetera.
So the idea was pie in the sky was something that was unreasonable or couldn’t possibly be achieved? That’s kind of the way, in context, he was using it.
Yeah, his pie in the sky approach to, I believe it was economics.
Yeah, well, actually, I’m really glad you asked about this, Dan, because pie in the sky has a fantastic history. It goes back to a song that was a parody back in the early part of the 20th century.
It was popularized by a labor organizer named Joe Hill. And Dan, have you ever heard this song in the sweet by and by?
Absolutely.
Oh, yeah? You’re familiar with it then?
Yes, I am. Yeah, I actually have heard that. Now, do I know all the words to it? No.
No. I am familiar with the song.
No, but yeah, yeah. I mean, it’s a beautiful song. Johnny Cash recorded it and Willie Nelson.
And some of the words you may remember are in the sweet by and by, we shall meet on that beautiful shore. And it’s a song about how, yeah, life may be tough here on Earth, but once we get to heaven, it’s all going to be great, right?
Right.
Yeah. Well, what this labor organizer did, he was unhappy with preachers who would go around and say this kind of thing, but ignore the fact that there was a need for social justice and alleviating human suffering right here on Earth, right here and now.
And so he wrote a parody of that beautiful hymn in The Sweet By and By, and he called it The Preacher and the Slave. And the line that’s key here is that he says, you will eat by and by in that glorious land above the sky. Work and pray, live on hay, you’ll get pie in the sky when you die.
Oh, okay.
So this was something that he would go around to logging camps and mining camps and organized migrant workers, singing this song that made fun of people who were pushing, you know, happiness out into the afterlife.
Oh, okay. All right. So heaven was a fallacy in a way.
Exactly.
Okay.
So his parody song was sung from coast to coast by labor organizers and people in unions, right?
Yeah.
Oh, that’s crazy.
Yeah, and it made a lot of fun of this beautiful song. And, you know, with the rhyme and everything, pie in the sky, and it’s such a great image, and it really caught on.
And now we use it, but we don’t really associate it with this song.
No.
That’s cool.
So in context, when he was using pie in the sky, when it comes to economics, he said it was just a false hope.
Exactly, exactly.
Okay.
Yeah.
All right.
All right.
Well, that’ll do it. I appreciate it.
Take care now.
Thank you.
All right. Bye-bye.
Bye.
