Joe Hill emigrated to the United States in 1902 where he joined the Industrial Workers of the World and became the most celebrated labor songwriter in the country. In 1915, he was executed for a crime that is widely believed he did not commit, and in 1930, the song "Joe Hill" was created to honor this legendary labor martyr.

This book, the first to tell the story of the song "Joe Hill," follows the song's national and international diaspora as it developed from a labor union ballad into an international anti-war anthem and rallying cry for all people to rise up against their oppressors. The story is told in the historical contexts of the times through which it traveled and includes the champions of the song who ensured its continued relevance, including Paul Robeson, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, and Utah Phillips.