Thanks for your excellent post Stewie,

Here are some other lyric sources:

IN THE PINES: Leadbelly
Tell me, where did you get them pretty little shoes
And the dress you wear so fine?
I got my shoes from a railroad man
Got my dress from a driver in the mine

IN THE PINES: Bill Monroe
I asked my captain for the time of day
He said he throwed his watch away
A long steel rail and a short cross tie
I'm on my way back home.

JOHN HENRY: Virginia Version
Who's going to shoe your pretty li'l feet?
And who's going to glove your hand?
Who's going to kiss your dimpled cheek?
And who's going to be your man?
Who's going to be your man?

My father's going to shoe my pretty li'l feet;
My brother's going to glove my hand;
My sister's going to kiss my dimpled cheek;
John Henry's going to be my man,
John Henry's going to be my man.

Where did you get your pretty li'l dress?
The shoes you wear so fine?
I got my shoes from a railroad man,
My dress from a man in the mine,
My dress from a man in the mine.

The "Long Steel Rail" (perhaps Norm Cohen could comment on this) is part of the "Ruben/Ruben's Train" family which include the related
Long Steel Rail; Train 45; Ruby (Are You Mad at Your Man?); Vestapol; Seventy Four; Nine Hundred Miles; Longest Train I Ever Saw; Train Is Off the Track; One Hundred Miles songs.

-Richie