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Published 10 days ago in Country, in album: Backroad Diaries
John Henry
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This traditional folk song tells the legendary story of John Henry, a steel-driving man who challenges a steam drill as a symbol of human strength and dignity against rising industrial power. Passed down through generations, it honors sacrifice and defiance, portraying how John Henry’s spirit lives on as a timeless echo of labor, pride, and resistance.
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Song Lyrics
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(Strophe 1)
John Henry was a steel-driving man.
He drove with a hammer in his hand.
He said before I let that steam drill beat me down.
I'll die with this hammer in my hand, Lord.
I'll die with this hammer in my hand.
(Strophe 2)
John Henry went up on the mountain.
And he looked down on the other side.
The mountain was so tall and John Henry was so small.
He laid down his hammer and he cried, Lord.
He laid down his hammer and he cried.
(Strophe 3)
John Henry said to his captain.
"A man ain't nothing but a man.
But before I let your steam drill beat me down.
I'll die with this hammer in my hand, Lord.
I'll die with this hammer in my Hand".
(Strophe 4)
The steam drill was set on the right side.
John Henry was set on the left.
He said, "Before I let that steam drill beat me down.
I'll hammer my fool self to death, Lord.
I'll hammer my fool self to death".
(Strophe 5)
They carried John Henry to the graveyard.
They buried him in the sand.
And every time a locomotive roars.
They say it's John Henry's hammer in the land, Lord.
It's John Henry's hammer in the land.
John Henry was a steel-driving man.
He drove with a hammer in his hand.
He said before I let that steam drill beat me down.
I'll die with this hammer in my hand, Lord.
I'll die with this hammer in my hand.
(Strophe 2)
John Henry went up on the mountain.
And he looked down on the other side.
The mountain was so tall and John Henry was so small.
He laid down his hammer and he cried, Lord.
He laid down his hammer and he cried.
(Strophe 3)
John Henry said to his captain.
"A man ain't nothing but a man.
But before I let your steam drill beat me down.
I'll die with this hammer in my hand, Lord.
I'll die with this hammer in my Hand".
(Strophe 4)
The steam drill was set on the right side.
John Henry was set on the left.
He said, "Before I let that steam drill beat me down.
I'll hammer my fool self to death, Lord.
I'll hammer my fool self to death".
(Strophe 5)
They carried John Henry to the graveyard.
They buried him in the sand.
And every time a locomotive roars.
They say it's John Henry's hammer in the land, Lord.
It's John Henry's hammer in the land.