JOHN HENRY

1 John Henry tol' his cap'n
Dat a man wuz a natural man,
An' befo' he'd let dat steam drill run him down,
He'd fall dead wid a hammer in his han',
He'd fall dead wid a hammer in his han',

2 Cap'n he sez to John Henry:
" Gonna bring me a steam drill 'round;
Take that steel drill out on the job,
Gonna whop that steel on down,
Gonna whop that steel on down."

3 John Henry sez to his cap'n:
"Send me a twelve-poun' hammer aroun',
A twelve-poun' hammer wid a fo' -foot handle,
An' I beat yo' steam drill down,
An' I beat yo' steam drill down."

4 John Henry sez to his shaker:
" Niggah, why don' yo' sing?
I'm throwin' twelve poun' from my hips on
down,
Jes' lissen to de col' steel ring,
Jes' lissen to de col' steel ring! "

5 John Henry went down de railroad
Wid a twelve-poun' hammer by his side,
He walked down de track but he didn' come
back,
'Cause he laid down his hammer an' he died,
'Cause he laid down his hammer an' he died.

6 John Henry hammered in de mountains,
De mountains wuz so high.
De las' words I heard de pore boy say:
" Gimme a cool drink o' watah fo' I die,
Gimme a cool drink o' watah fo' die! "

7 John Henry had a little baby,
Hel' him in de palm of his han',
De las' words I heard de pore boy say:
" Son, yo're gonna be a steel-drivin' man,
Son, yo're gonna be a steel-drivin' man!

8 John Henry had a 'ooman,
De dress she wo' wuz blue.
De las' words I heard de pore gal say:
" John Henry, I ben true to yo',
John Henry, I ben true to yo'."

9 John Henry had a li'l 'ooman,
De dress she wo' wuz brown.
De las' words I heard de pore gal say:
" I'm goin' w'eah mah man went down,
I'm goin' w'eah mah man went down! "

10 John Henry had anothah 'ooman,
De dress she wo' wuz red.
De las' words I heard de pore gal say:
" I'm goin' w'eah mah man drapt daid,
I'm goin' w'eah mah man drapt daid! "

11 John Henry had a li'l 'ooman,
Her name wuz Polly Ann.
On de day John Henry he drap daid
Polly Ann hammered steel like a man,
Polly Ann hammered steel like a man.

12 W'eah did yo' git dat dress!
W'eah did you git dose shoes so fine?
Got dat dress fm off a railroad man,
An' shoes f'm a driver in a mine,
An' shoes f'm a driver in a mine.


Source: The American Songbag, by Carl Sandburg, 1927, pp 24-5.

I couldn't find any online performances of the Sandburg version of this song.

(Scanned OCR then corrected. PDF available.)