Unknown - John Henry Lyrics

Lyrics Directory >> U >> Unknown Singer Lyrics >> John Henry Song Lyrics

Artist:	Unknown
Song Title:	John Henry
Visits:	754

Print Version

John Henry

John Henry was a li'l baby, uh-huh,
Sittin' on his mama's knee, oh, yeah,
Said: "De Big Bend Tunnel on de C & O road
Gonna cause de death of me,
Lawd, Lawd. Gonna cause de death of me.

John Henry, he had a woman,
Her name was Mary Magdalene,
She would go to de tunnel and sing for John,
Jes' to hear John Henry's hammer ring, Lawd, Lawd, jes' to hear
John Henry's hammer ring.
John Henry had a li'l woman,
Her name was Lucy Ann,
John Henry took sick an' had to go to bed,
Lucy Ann drove steel like a man,
Lawd, Lawd, Lucy Ann drove steel like a man.

Cap'n says to John Henry,
Gonna bring me a steam drill 'round,
Gonna take dat steam drill out on de job, Gonna whop dat steel on
down, Lawd, Lawd, gonna whop dat steel on down.

john Henry tol' his cap'n,
Lightnin' was in his eye;
Cap'n, bet yo' las' red cent on me,
Fo' I'll beat it to de bottom or I'll die,
Lawd, Lawd, I'll beat
it to de bottom or I'll die."
Sun shine hot an' burnin',
Wer'n't no breeze a-tall,
Sweat ran down like water down a hill,
Dat day John Henry let his hammer fall,
Lawd, Lawd, dat day John Henry let his hammer fall.

John Henry went to de tunnel,
An' dey put him in de lead to drive,
De rock so tall an' John Henry so small,
Dat he lied down his hammer an' he cried,
Lawd, Lawd, dat he lied down his hammer an' he cried.

John Henry started out on de right hand,
De steam drill started on de lef'---
"Before I 'd let dis steam drill beat me down,
I'd hammer my fool self to death,
Lawd, Lawd, I'd hammer my fool self to death."
White man tol' John Henry,
"Nigger, damn yo' soul,
You might beat dis steam an' dr;ll of mine,
When de rocks in dis mountain turn to gol',
Lawd, Lawd, when de rocks in dis mountain turn to gol'.

john Henry said to his shaker,
"Nigger, why don' you sing?
I'm throwin' twelve poun's from my hips on down,
Jes' listen to de col' steel ring,
Lawd, Lawd, jes' listen to de col' steel ring."
Oh, de captain said to John Henry,
"I b'lieve this mountain's sinkin' in,
John Henry said to his captain, oh my!
"Ain' nothin' but my hammer suckin' win',
Lawd, Lawd, ain' nothln' but my hammer suckin' win."
John Henry tol' his shaker,
Shaker, you better pray,
For if I miss dis six-foot steel,
Tomorrow'll be yo' buryin' day,
Lawd, Lawd, tomorrow'll be yo' buryin' day."

John Henry tol' his captain,
"Looka yonder what l see ---
Yo' drill's done broke an' yo' hole's done choke,
An' you cain' drive steel like me,
Lawd, Lawd, an' you cain' drive steel like me."

De man dat invented de steam drill,
Thought he was mighty fine.
John Henry drove his fifteen feet,
An' de steam drill only made nine,
Lawd, Lawd, an' de steam drill only made nine.
De hammer dat John Henry swung',
It weighed over nine pound ;
He broke a rib in his lef'-han' side,
An' his intrels fell on de groun',
Lawd, Lawd, an' his intrels fell on de groun'.

John Henry was hammerin' on de mountain,
An' his hammer was strikin' fire,
He drove so hard till he broke his pore heart,
An' he lied down his hammer an' he died,
Lawd, Lawd, he lied doWn his hammer an' he died.

All de womens in de wes',
When dey heared of John Henry's death,
Stood in de rain, flagged de eas'-boun' train,
Goin' where John Henry fell dead,
Lawd, Lawd, goin' where John Henry fell dead.
John Henry's lil mother,
She was all dressed in red,
She jumped in bed, covered up her head,
Said she didn' know her son was dead,
Lawd, Lawd, didn' know her son was dead.

John Henry had a pretty lil woman,
An' de dress she wo' was blue,
An' de las' wards she said to him:
"John Henry, I've been true to you,
Lawd, Lawd, John Henry I've been true to you."

"Oh, who's gonna shoe yo' lil feetses,
An' who's gonna glub yo' han's,
An' who'g gonna kiss yo' rosy, rosy lips,
An' who's gonna be yo' man,
Lawd, Lawd, an' who's gonna be yo' man?"
Dey took John Henry to de graveyard,
An' dey buried him in de san',
An' every locomotive come roarin' by,
Says, "Dere lays a steel-drivin' man,
Lawd, Lawd, dere lays a steel-drivin' man."

From American Ballads and Folk Songs, Lomax
@hero @work @train
filename[ JHNHENRY
play.exe JHNHENRY
RG
===DOCUMENT BOUNDARY

John Henry Lyrics at Lyricstrue

E-Mail, IM, Text :
Websites & Blogs :
Forums :


Other Unknown song Lyrics
99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall "Midnight Mass a yellow moon Wonder walked from my window Now she sings a different tune Golden tones, out of the blue..."	A Bird in a Gilded Cage "99 Bottles of Beer on the wall, 99 Bottles of Beer, If one of those bottles should happen to fall, 98 bottles of beer on the wall...."
A Fenian Song "A Bird in a Gilded Cage The ballroom was filled with fashion's throng, It shone with a thousand lights; And there was a woman who passed along,..."	A Fool Such As I "A Fenian Song 1. The Queen's Own Regiment was their name; From fair Toronto town they came To put the Irish all to shame -..."
A Friend Like You "I need a friend I can really depend on Not just someone funny or cool Someone who follows the Lord just like I do Don't wanna be the friend of a fool..."	A Hero of the Wrong War "A Gentleman of Exeter A gentleman of Exelter, He had but one only daughter dear. When she was scarce sixteen years of age,..."
A Horse Named Bill "A Hero of the Wrong War I recall the afternoon, I had just come home from school When the FBI came knocking on our door They were looking for my dad..."	A Hundred Years from Now "A HORSE NAMED BILL I had a horse, his name was Bill And when he ran, he couldn't stand still He ran away, one day And also, I ran with him..."