Lyrics The Legend of John Henry's Hammer - Live at Folsom State Prison, Folsom, CA (2nd Show) - January 1968 - Johnny Cash

John Henry's pappy woke him up one midnight
He said before the sheriff comes I wanna tell you
He said, "Listen, boy"
"Learn to hoist a jack and learn to lay a track"
"Learn to pick and shovel too"
"And take that hammer"
"It'll do anything you tell it to"

John Henry's mammy had about a dozen babies
John Henry's pappy, jail, broke jail a dozen times
The babies all got sick and when the doctor wanted money
He said, "I'll pay you quarter at a time, startin' tomorow"
That's the pay for a steel driver on this line

Then the section foreman said, "Hey, hammer swinger"
Said, "I see you brought your own hammer, boy, but"
"What else can all them muscles do?"
And he said, "I can hoist a jack-"
(Excuse me)
Said, "I can hoist a jack and I can lay a track, I can pick and shovel too"
He said, "Can you swing that hammer?"
And he said, "Do anything you hire me to"

Said, "Now ain't you something?"
"You so high and mighty with all them muscles"
"Go ahead, boy, pick up that hammer and show me what you can do"

He said, "Get a rusty spike and swing that hammer down three times
"Pay you a nickel a day for every inch you sink it to"
"Go on and do what you say you can do"

With a steep nose hammer on a four foot switch handle
John Henry raised it back 'til it touched his heels and
The spike went through the cross tie and it split it half in two
35 cents a day for drivin' steel
Said, "Sweat, boy, sweat, you owe me two more swings"
He said, "I was born for drivin' steel"

Now, John Henry hammered in the mountains
He'd give a grunt and he'd give a groan with every swing
The women folks for miles around, heard him and come down
Said, "Watch him make the cold steel ring, Lord, what a swinger"
"Watch him make the cold steel ring"

Then a bad boss come up laughing at John Henry
He said, "You full of vinegar now, but you 'bout through"
"We gonna get a steam drill to do your share of drivin'"
"Then what's all them muscles gonna do? Huh, John Henry?"
"Gonna take a little bit of vinegar out of you"

John Henry said, "I feed four little brothers"
"And my baby sister's walkin' on her knees"
"Now did the Lord say that machines oughta take the place of the living?"
"Then what's a subsitute for bread and beans?"
"I ain't seen it"
"Do engines get rewarded for their steam?"

Then John Henry said to his captain
Said, "A man ain't nothin' but a man"
"But you can bring that steam drill 'round and I'll beat it fair and honest"
"I'll die with that hammer in my hand, but I'll be laughing"
"'Cause you can't replace a steel drivin' man"

There was a big crowd of people at the mountain
John Henry said to the steam drill, "How is you?"
Said, "Pardon me, Mr. Steam Drill, I suppose you didn't hear me, I said, how are you, huh?"
"Can you hoist a jack? Can you lay a track? Can you pick and shovel too, huh?"
"Listen, this hammer swingers talkin' to you"

2000 people hollered go John Henry
Then somebody hollered, "The mountain's caving in"
John Henry told his captain, "Tell the kind folks don't worry"
"That ain't nothin' but my hammer suckin' wind, keeps me breathing"
"The steel driver's muscle ain't dead"

"Captain, tell the people move back further"
"I'm at the finish line and ain't no drill"
"It's so far behind, but yet ain't got the brains to quit it"
"When she blows up she'll scatter 'cross the hills", Lord lordy
"When she blows up she'll scatter 'cross the hills"

Now John Henry had a little woman
I believe the lady's name was Polly Ann
Yeah, that was his good woman
John Henry threw his hammer over his shoulder and he went on home
Early next morning, he said
"Come here, Polly Ann"
"Come here, sugar"
Said, "You know, I've been layin' here watching that sun come up and"
"I believe this is the first time I've seen the sun come up that I couldn't come up with it"

(Dirty minds)
(What does he mean by that, Lou?)

Said, "Take that hammer, Polly Ann, go to that rail road"
"And when you're swingin' with the lead men, you tell them that ain't all I can do, tell 'em"

"I could hoist a jack and I could lay a track"
"I could pick and shovel too, ain't no machine can"
"That's been proved to you"

There was a big crowd of people at the church house
The section hands laid him in the sand
Trains go by on the rails John Henry laid

They slow down when they come to the place where John Henry's a-laying, resting his back
They say, "Mornin', steel driver, you sure was a hammer swinger"
Then they go on by, pickin' up a little speed
Clickety-clack

Yonder lies a steel drivin' man, Lord, Lord
Yonder lies a steel drivin' man

Yonder lies a steel drivin' man, Lord, Lord
Yonder lies a steel drivin' man

Yeah, yonder lies a steel drivin' man

(Thank you)

(How much time you got?)
('Bout 15 minutes?)
(I'll take all I want)