Hi cnd,
I'm happy to read that you enjoyed my article.

I don't recall ever coming across the song "Spike Driver's Moan", so I googled it and found a nice recording of it by Dave Van Ronk. It appears to be based on Mississippi John Hurt's "Spike Driver Blues", which is probably loosely based upon work songs known as hammer songs, some of which make mention of John Henry. ("This Ol' Hammer" is also a hammer song.) I write about John Henry hammer songs on my website.


You're right about these songs bringing out a darker ("defeatist") aspect of the ballad. Scott Reynolds Nelson gets into this in his excellent book about John Henry titled Steel Drivin' Man, which discusses hammer songs in some detail. Nelson is a historian and very knowledgeable about the history of labor and railroads. He also brings out the racial aspect of the John Henry legend and the importance of putting the ballad in its proper historical context.

Jim Hauser
https://sites.google.com/site/johnhenrytherebelversions/home