Furry Lewis used the word "billed" in an unusual way in several (but not all) of his various of recordings of "John Henry," and I'm wondering about its meaning. That is, I THINK he's singing "billed." I've included links to the recordings on Youtube at the end of this post, and would really appreciate it if some folks would give them a listen and let me know if you agree that "billed" is what's being sung.

Lewis has included protest lyrics in his various recordings of "John Henry," so I'm wondering if he used the word "billed" as a protest of some sort--possibly a reference to forced labor, such as convict lease labor. The verse in which this occurs is the "A man ain't nothin' but a man" verse.    Possibly the intended meaning of what John Henry is saying is that he will resist and fight back "until I die with a hammer in my hand" against being forced into working on the steel driving gang.

Assuming that folks agree that Lewis is singing "billed," I will provide further details about why I believe the term might be referring to forced labor.

Links to the recordings and explanations are below.

This first version is a recording Lewis did for Samuel Charters, and it sounds like he's singing "Before be billed by your..." For some reason he leaves out the pronoun "I." It appears at around the one minute and 40 second mark of the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r17if3OGZIQ



The next version appears on Lewis's Shake 'Em On Down album. I could be wrong, but it sounds to me like he's singing "Before I be billed by your..." It appears at the one minute and 12 second mark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K813v6k2z_o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K813v6k2z_o   


This third version is on the Live at the Gaslight au Go Go album. To my ears, it's unclear as to what word Lewis is singing, but I think I hear the letters "B" and "L" so "billed" (Before I be billed by your...) is a possibility. It appears around the one minute 52 second mark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4r2G9IJ3lo