Of course, this could be sung by any of a whole host of people but I'm plumping for the version by Johnny Cash on his American IV: The Man Comes Around album.
What you have here is a truly rare combination - a song written with genuine poetic gift (Ewan MacColl), sung with an honesty & power that are beyond doubt and produced (by Rick Rubin) with a deft & sympathetic touch that illuminates. It genuinely sounds as though a heart has been opened and its emotional caverns chiselled-out.
As an aside, on the album this track is followed by Cash's version of Depeche Mode's Personal Jesus. Now that's how to put an album together....
ps. For the Badger's sake - and to allow others to compare & enjoy another stunning reading of this great song, here is the Roberta Flack version (live).
