John Henry Lyrics

John Henry he hammered
In the mountains
His hammer was striking fire
But he worked so hard
It broke his heart
John Henry laid down his hammer
And died, Lord, Lord
John Henry laid down his hammer and died


Well, now John Henry
He had him a woman
By the name of Polly Ann
She walked out to those tracks
Picked up John Henry's hammer
Polly drove steel like a man, Lord, Lord
Polly drove that steel like a man


Well every, every Monday morning
When a blue bird he began to sing
You could hear John Henry
From a mile or more
You could hear John Henry's hammer
Ring, Lord, Lord
You can hear John Henry's hammer ring

You can hear John Henry's hammer
Ring, Lord, Lord
You can hear John Henry's hammer ring

How to Format Lyrics:

  • Type out all lyrics, even repeating song parts like the chorus
  • Lyrics should be broken down into individual lines
  • Use section headers above different song parts like [Verse], [Chorus], etc.
  • Use italics (<i>lyric</i>) and bold (<b>lyric</b>) to distinguish between different vocalists in the same song part
  • If you don’t understand a lyric, use [?]

To learn more, check out our transcription guide or visit our transcribers forum

About

Genius Annotation

Was John Henry a real man?

Guy Johnson, a professor of Sociology at the University of North Carolina, says he was. He worked as a steel driver on the Chesapeake & Ohio Big Bend tunnel near Talcott, West Virginia in the southeast corner of the state.

The tunnel was built from 1870 – 1872, and John Henry was a steel driver, hammering a steel drill into the rock to make holes for explosive charges. The song tells the tale of how John Henry was upset about the new technology of steam-powered drills, and challenged the steam-powered drill in a contest where he would hammer one side of the tunnel by hand while the steam drill worked the other side. Henry won the day-long contest, only to die as a result of the stress on his heart.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

Credits
Written By
Recording Engineer
Instrumentation
Saxophone
Upright Bass
Percussion
Mastering Engineer
Assistant Mixing Engineer
Assistant Engineer
Mixing Engineer
Release Date
April 25, 2006
John Henry Samples
John Henry Is A Cover Of
View John Henry samples
Tags
Comments