Well, John Henry told
his little woman,
Gonna cook my supper soon.
I got ninety miles of track,
I'm going to line,
Gonna line by the light of the moon,
Lord, Lord, gonna line by
the light of the moon.
John Henry was a stew driver,
he was the best in the land,
And he died with his hammer in his hand,
Now to tell you all about it now
Padre John Henry told his captain
Now a man ain't nothing but a man
But before I let your steam
drill beat me down
Gonna die with a hammer in my hand,
Lord, Lord
Gonna die with a hammer in my hand
Padre John Henry told his captain
That a man ain't nothing but a man
But before I let your steel
drill beat me down
You're gonna die with that
hammer in my hand
Lord, Lord, you're gonna die with
that hammer in my hand
John Henry had a little woman
And the dress that she wore was red
Oh, she started over track,
Lord, she never looked back
I'm gonna where John Henry lies dead
Lord, you're gonna wake
your Henry Lysade
Ah, your Henry went down to Washington
And they buried him in the sand
And the people from the East,
Lord, the people from the West
Came to see such a steel -driving man
Yes, Lord, came to see such
a steel -driving man
Well, there's some that say
he's from England
He's from France
You don't know he's nothin'
but a Louisiana man
He's the leader of the Steel Drivin' Gang
No, no, he's the leader of
the Steel Drivin' Gang