John Henry: Legend, Lore, or Lifer?

I am wanting to know what everyone else knows about John Henry from the folk song diplicting him in a race to lay rail road track against an automated machine.

Do you think he was a real man? Do you think he is fiction? Or do you think he was a prisoner and the song is a prison song?

I am interested in hearing everyones oppinions and I would appreciate any links or books that you might know of.

Thanks.




COMPILATION OF COLLECTED VERSES

When John Henry was a little baby, Just a sittin' on his mammy's knee,
Said the Big Bend Tunnel on that C & O Road A Gonna be the death of me, Lord God Going to be the death of me.

John Henry, he had a woman, Her name was Mary Magdalene,
She would go to de tunnel and sing for John, Jes' to hear John Henry's hammer ring, Lawd, Lawd; jes' to hear John Henry's hammer ring.

John Henry had a li'1 woman, Her name was Lucy Ann,
John Henry took sick an' had to go to bed,
Lucy Ann drove steel like a man, Lawd, Lawd, Lucy Ann drove steel like a man

John Henry went to the tunnel, An' they put him in the lead to drive;
The rock so tall an' John Henry so small, that he laid down his hammer an' he cried ,
Lawd, Lawd, that he laid down his hammer an' he cried.

The captain said to John Henry, "I'm gonna bring that steam drill around
I'm gonna bring that steam drill out on the job
I'm gonna whip that steel on down, Lord, Lord" (repeat)

Well John Henry said to the captain, I'm gonna take a little trip downtown
Get me a thirty pound hammer with that nine foot handle I'll beat your steam drill down,
Lord God I'll beat your steam drill down

John Henry told his captain, "Lord, a man ain't nothing but a man
But before I'd let your steam drill beat me down,
I'd die with a hammer in my hand, Lord, Lord" (repeat)

John Henry tol' his cap'n, Lightnin' was in his eye:
Cap'n, bet yo' las' red cent on me, Fo' I'll beat it to the bottom or I'll die
Lawd, Lawd, I'll beat it to the bottom or I'll die

The captain tol' John Henry, John Henry, damn yo' soul,
You might beat this steam an' drill of mine, When the rocks in this mountain turn to gold,
Lawd, Lawd, when the rocks in this mountain turn to gold

John Henry started on the right hand, the steam drill started on the lef'
Before I'd let this steam drill beat me down , I'd hammer my fool self to death,
Lawd, Lawd, I'd hammer my fool self to death

John Henry said to his shaker, "Shaker, why don't you sing?
Because I'm swinging thirty pounds from my hips on down,
just to listen to that cold steel ring, Lord, Lord" (repeat)

John Henry told his shaker, "shaker, you better pray,
for if I miss this six-foot steel, tomorrow'll be your buryin day
Lord lord, tomorrow'll be your buryin day"

Well John Henry hammered on that mountain Till his hammer was striking fire
And the very last words that I heard that boy say was
"Cool drink of water 'for I die, Lord God Cool drink of water 'for I die"

Now the captain said to John Henry, "I believe that mountain's caving in"
John Henry said right back to the captain,
"Ain't nothing but my hammer sucking wind, Lord, Lord" (repeat)

Now the man that invented the steam drill, he thought he was mighty fine
But John Henry drove fifteen feet,
the steam drill only made nine, Lord, Lord (repeat)

Sun shine hot an' burnin' Weren't no breeze at all ,
Sweat ran down like water down a hill, That day John Henry let his hammer fall,
Lawd, Lawd, dat day John Henry let his hammer fall

The hammer that John Henry swung, it weighed over fourteen pounds
He broke a rib in his left hand side and his entrails fell on the ground
Lord lord, his entrails fell on the ground

John Henry hammered in the mountains, his hammer was striking fire
But he worked so hard, it broke his poor, poor heart,
and he laid down his hammer and he died, Lord, Lord (repeat)

Well they carried him down to the graveyard And they buried him in the sand
And every locomotive came a roarin' on by They cried out,
"There lies a steel drivin' man, Lord God There lies a steel drivin' man.

All the womens in the West, When they heared of John Henry's death
Stood in the rain, flagged the eas'-boun' train, Goin' where John Henry fell dead,
Lawd, Lawd, goin' where John Henry fell dead

John Henry's lil mother, She was all dressed in red,
She jumped in bed, covered up her head Said she didn' know her son was dead,
Lawd, Lawd, didn' know her son was dead

John Henry had a pretty lil woman, An' the dress she wo' was blue,
An' the las' words she said to him: "John Henry, I've been true to you,
Lawd, Lawd, John Henry, I've been true to you."

Oh, who's gonna shoe yo' lil feetses, An' who's gonna glove yo' han's,
An' who's gonna kiss yo' rosy, rosy lips, An' who's gonna be yo' man ,
Lawd, Lawd, an' who's gonna be yo' man

Oh, my mama's gonna shoe my lil feetses, An' my papa's gonna glove my lil han's
An' my sister's gonna kiss my rosy, rosy lips, An' I don' need no man,
Lawd, Lawd, an' I don' need no man."

Well there's some say he came from Texas There's some say he came from Maine
Well I don't give a damn where that poor boy was from You know that,
he was a steel drivin' man, Lord God John Henry was a steel drivin' man

 

Recent scholarship on this topic

You should check out the following article.

Scott Nelson. "Who Was John Henry? Railroad Construction, Southern
Folklore, and the Birth of Rock and Roll." Labor: Studies in
Working-Class History of the Americas Vol. 2. No. 2 Summer 2005 page
53-79.

 

Thanks for the info. I appreciate it.

 

There was something on the Discovery Channel about John Henry last month. You know the part where it says that he was buried under the White House? No one believed the story until a few caskets where discovered buried under the old White House (before it was burned down by the British during the War of 1812). Was one of those corpses that of John Henry? No one knows... interesting stuff.