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John Henry is an American folk hero. Legend has it he had the strength of ten ordinary men and that he forged a twenty-pound hammer from the shackles and chains he once wore as a slave. He and his true love, Polly-Anne, travelled America laying track for the railroad until one fateful day when the steam drill came around. The rail workers had been promised land when they finished the track and now their jobs were on the line. The steam-powered machine laid track faster than ten men with their hammers could but John Henry had an idea. He challenged the drill to a steel-laying contest, pitting hammer and muscle against gears and steam. Both the steam drill and John Henry drove into that mountain, but it was John Henry that emerged on the other side. He'd beaten the machine and won back for the workers their promised land. But the feat was too great for John Henry. He dropped his hammer and collapsed - after all, a man ain't nothin' but a man. He'd driven himself so hard that his poor heart burst. Polly-Anne came to his side and brought his hammer back to his hand. And with his last dying breath, he whispered something that only she could hear. They buried him there. So, when you're passing by that railroad, take a moment and give a thought to John Henry. For there lies a steel-drivin' man.

lyrics

D
John Henry, when he was a baby
A
Sitting on his mammy's knee
D
Picked up a hammer in his little right hand
Bm A G D
Said hammer be the death of me, me, me
Bm A D
Hammer be the death of me

Some said he's born down in Texas
Some say he's born up in Maine
I just say he's a Louisiana man
And the leader of a steel driving gang, gang, gang
Leader of a steel driving gang

The captain said to John Henry
I'm gonna bring a steam drill around
Gonna bring that steam drill out on the job
I'll whup that steel on down, down, down
Whup that steel on down

John Henry said to the captain
You can bring that steam drill round
You can bring your steam drill out on the job
I'll whup that steam drill down, down, down
Whup that seam drill down

Now the captain said to John Henry
I believe that mountain's caving in
What Henry said back stopped the captain in his tracks
Ain't nothin' but my hammer suckin' wind, wind, wind
Nothin' but my hammer suckin' wind

John Henry drove into the mountain
His iron was striking fire
He beat that steam drill into the ground
And raised his hammer to the sky, sky, sky
Held his hammer in the sky

John Henry cried out to his woman
A man ain't nothin' but a man
He drove so hard that it broke his poor heart
And he died with his hammer in his hand, hand, hand
There lies a steel drivin' man

credits

from The Kitchen Chorus Songbook, track released November 9, 2011

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Joe Vickers Drumheller, Alberta

Farmer by day, troubadour by night, Joe Vickers has logged countless miles on both his combine and tour van. His music explores the human spirit singing of the triumphs and tragedies of everyday life on the prairies.

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