Subject: Origins: Telling the true history of John Henry
From:
GUEST,Rick Pollay
Date: 24 Aug 20 - 04:05 PM
The myth of John Henry ar evident in the song variants that have strayed from the historical facts and emphasizing super human powers, e.g. the size of the hammer swung. Because the showdown competition between man and machine happened in 1871, even what was collected by Lomax was already more myth than history. Lost we some basic facts such as that he was a black Negro, newly declared feee, but that was not to be.
The info below attempts to bring the song back to telling the histoiral story. For this I have relied upon a Scholar: Nelson, Scott Reynolds, Steel Drivin' Man: John Henry, The Untold Story of an American Legend. Oxford Univ. Press, 2006.
Some factual fragments:
Negro Prisoner 497 Virginia, 1866, start of reconstruction era.
Arrested Richmond VA at age 19, theft from store. Charge rewritten from petty shoplifting to maximize prison time (10 years)
Convict leasing to railroad construction to get coal from WVa
He was 5'1" short = perfect for working in coal mines or as TUNNEL RAT
Silica dust, 10% a year died, many more after being sent home to die.
Also scurvy (malnutrition), dropsy (edema).
Shaker, drilling holes for nitro, "rock and roll" debris
Usually 9-12 lb hammers. Not 20, 30, 40 !?! as in some lyrics
CONTEST 1871. Lewis tunnel West Virginia. Man vs. steam drill.
Hopefully, this revised version retains the themes of being worked to death, man vs. machine competition, dying with dignity (a Hero's death), and now includes convict leasing during reconstruction.
Some say he was from Georgia,
Some say from Alabam,
In fact he was a New Jersey Man,
On a prison railroad gang, Lord Lord
On a prison railroad gang.
Arrested and jailed in Virginie
For robbin' a grocery store. (Wiseman's)
The white judge threw the black book at him.
Said, you owe us TEN YEARS more. Lord, Lord
You owe us TEN YEARS more.
John Henry worked in the tunnels,
He worked from six 'till five. (11 hour work day)
He stood at only five foot one
But he made his hammer come alive, Lord Lord
He made his hammer come alive.
The shaker said to John Henry
I do my work between swings
I rock n' roll the crushings away
So you'll hear my steel bar ring, Lord, Lord (2)
John Henry said to his shaker,
"Shaker, you'd better pray?
If I miss your six foot of steel
Tomorrow be your burying day Lord, Lord. (x2)."
The captain said to John Henry
"Gonna bring a steam drill 'round.
Gonna bring a steam drill out on the job.
Gonna whoop that steel on down. DOWN, DOWN" (x2)
John Henry said to his captain,
"A man ain't nothin' but a man,
But before I let your steam drill beat me down,
I'd die with a hammer in my hand. Lord, Lord." (x2)
The Captain said to John Henry. (OPTIONAL)
"Niggah, dam your soul,
You'll beat dis steam drill o' mine
When de' rocks in this mountain turn to gold, Lawd, Lawd (x2)
The man that invented the stream drill
Thought he was mighty fine
But John Henry he made fourteen feet (SHAFT?)
While the steam drill only made nine. Lord, Lord (x2)
John Henry hammered in the mountain
His hammer was striking fire
But he worked so hard, he broke his poor heart
He laid down his hammer and he died. Lord , Lord (x2)
They took his body to a graveyard
Laid him unmarked in the sand
But every steam engine a-roarin' on by
Knew "There lies a steel-drivin' man Lord, Lord (x2)
UNUSED = trad - but historically suspect
When John Henry was just a baby
Sittin' on his mama's knee.
He picked up a hammer and a little piece of steel;
Said, "Hammer's gonna be the death of me, Lord, Lord.
Hammer's gonna be the death of me."
John Henry had a little woman
Her name was Polly Anne
When John Henry took sick and went to his bed
Polly Ann drove steel like a man. Lord Lord
Polly Ann drove steel like a man
Well, every Monday morning
When the bluebirds begin to sing
You can hear John Henry a mile or more
You still hear John Henry's hammer ring Lord, Lord
You still hear John Henry's hammer ring
and many, many more ...
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