You and Jonathan Henry,
he was a little bitty boy
He just was sittin' on his mammy's knee
He said, the Big Bend Tunnel, Sieno Road
It's gonna be the death of me, Lord, Lord
It's gonna be the death of me
When I'm gonna drive
Yeah, John Henry had him a woman
Her name was Mary Magdalene
Now she went down with
that poor boy to drive
To hear his coal hammering, la, la
To hear John Henry's hammering
Yeah, hear it ring, ring,
ring, yeah, while I drive
Oo h, whoo
John Henry,
he had another woman
Her name was Sally An n
Johnny got drunk and had to go to bed
Sally drove the steel like a man,
Lord, Lord
Sally drove the steel like a man
You're like John Henry, almost
Not quite, no,
not hardly
John Henry's family needed money,
said they didn't have but a dime
He said, if you'll wait until
the sun goes down,
I'll get it from the man on the line, Lord,
Lord, I'll get it from the man on the line
Yes, you know, well, where I work,
I'm driving steel,
oh yeah
John Henry, drove on the mountain,
seen drill by his side
Well he drove about a mile and a half,
laid down a hammer and he cried
Lord, Lord, he laid down his
hammer and he cried
Oh, yeah, he cried.
Oh, yeah, he cried.
John Henry cried.
Oh, yeah, he cried.
Yeah, the white man,
he said to John Henry
Well, Henry,
now damn your soul
You may have beaten this in steam
and a drill of a mine
When the rocks in the mountain
turn to gold, poor boy
When the rocks in the moun
tain turn to gold
Oh, when they shine,
they shine like gold
Tell you what John Henry
said
Yeah, John Henry,
he looked down at the
white man
An d lightning was in his eyes
He said, Captain,
but your last red penny on me
I'll beat her to the bottom or I'll die,
Lord, Lord
I'll beat her to the bottom or I'll die
Oh, yeah, I'll die
Oh, yeah, I'll die
Oh, yeah, I'll die
Oh, yeah, I'll die
John Henry drove steel in the tunnel,
hammer strike in fire
Well he drove so hard,
broke his poor heart,
laid down the hammer and he died, la la
He laid down his hammer and he died,
oh yeah he died, yeah he died
Oh yeah, he died.
John Henry died.
Oooo
Tam bour
ine
guy John Henry had yet
Another woman
The dress she wore,
now it was red
Says, I'm going down that track
I ain't looking back
I'm going where my Johnny boy fell dead,
Lord, Lord
I'm going where John
Henry fell dead
Yeah, where he died
Well driving steel,
he was a workin' son of a gun
Yeah, they took John Henry
to the White House
Laid him knees by the sand
And every locomotive
and those roaring mines
Said yonder lies a steel drivin' man, la, la
Yonder lies a steel -drivin' man
workin' boy
Yonder lies
Well, a steel -drivin' man
Lord, Lord
Yeah, now yonder lies a steel
Oh, down yonder
Yeah, down yonder
Yonder lies a steel -drivin' man
Hoyt Axton 
