John Henry (Songs for Little Pickers)

[Intro]
Most of you have heard about the mighty, steel-driving man, John Henry. Well, there's a legend that goes along with John Henry. The good, hardworking folks in the south here that used to pick all the cotton claim that he was one of their very own, and the coal mining folks that work so hard in the mines claim that he was one of their very own; he was such a mighty man. The people who build all the railroads across the country say that he belonged to their crew. Well, John Henry was such a huge man that whеn he passed on, the folks at thе railroad donated a boxcar for his coffin. He requested they put his hammer and his crowbar in when they laid him down. Well, that night John Henry wasn’t dead. He waked up and he broke open that boxcar door, and he went over to Ms. Polly Ann's door and left her a note under the door, and said, "Honey, you meet me over the next town; I'm going over there to drive some more steel

[Verse 1]
When John Henry was just a little bitty baby
You could set him on the palm of your hand
John Henry’s mama looked down at him and said
"My Johnny gon' be a steel driving man papa"
"Johnny gon' be a steel driving man"

[Verse 2]
Then when John Henry was just a little old boy
And could sit on his papa's knee
Picked up a hammer then he said to his papa
"Hammer be the death of me"
"Hammer be the death of me"

[Verse 3]
Now John Henry was a steel driving man
He drove steel all over this land
Said "fore I let that old steam drill beat me down
Gonna die with my hammer in my hand"
"Die with my hammer in my hand"

[Verse 4]
Well John Henry's captain, he sat down on a rock
Said "I think this tunnel's caving in"
John Henry smiled at his captain and he said
"Hey man that's my hammer sucking wind"
"That's my old hammer sucking wind"

[Verse 5]
John Henry had a sweet little woman
Her name was Polly Ann
While John he lay sick, and had to go to bed
Polly drove that steel like a man
Polly drove that steel like a man

Pick it Jack

[Verse 6]
John Henry hammered in the big ben tunnel
Til his hammer caught on fire
The last word that poor John Henry said
"Gimme a cool drink a water fore I die"
"Cool drink a water fore I die"

[Verse 7]
Well they buried John Henry by the railroad track
Put him six feet under the sand
And every time a frieght train would come a’rolling by they’d say
"Yonder lies a steel driving man" Haha
"Yonder lies a steel driving man"