John Henry
Who is John Henry I hear you ask. accurately, to me it was a They puissance Be Giants album, an awesome album at that but not much more. This could be because I am not an American, and don’t go much throughout folk music or olden days. However, our well-disposed friends The BJ’s are so regaled by this race ideal that they named their van after him. An passage from The BJ’s blog-
Pedestrian Traffic by beccy joe
If we are chillaxing in John Henry for long enough when there is humdrum traffic universal by, someone on eventually be heard to remark to someone else “John Henry!” (because we have his name written on the side panel and people get excited approximately it and desire to say it aloud). then they’ll command it with a intelligent laugh and we take they know the inscription. off they’ll just official it like a fact. Bj and I many times grin joyously at each other when an innocent passerby feels compelled to guess the name of John Henry aloud.
Sometimes people also/alternatively comment on “…British…Columbia…” because our plates are from B.C. and I think we may be the just Canadian registered buggy on the U.S. road, so it takes them a while to process the phenomenon of our odd mass plates.
OK so the number plating segment isn’t allied to my story but I plan it was funny. Anyhoo, once I hear that BJ is a collector of John Henry songs, so, Beccy Joe, here is the proper ToMe FromMe version of ‘John Henry’. have.
[audio=http://ia311304.us.archive.org/3/items/JohnHenry_127/JohnHenry5.2Mb_64kb.mp3]
Lyrics
Well, John Henry was a itsy-bitsy baby
Sittin' on his daddy's knee,
He pick up a hammer and a little piece of steel,
And cried, "Hammer's gonna be the passing of me, Lord, boss around,
Hammer's gonna be the annihilation of me"
any longer the captain he said, to John Henry,
"I'm gonna institute that steam drill 'round,
I'm gonna bring that steam drill doused on these tracks,
I'm gonna knock that steel on down, demiurge, God,
Gonna knock that steel on down"
John Henry told his captain,
"Lord, man ain't nothin' but a man,
Before I let that steam drill beat me down
I'm gonna go to meet one's Maker with a hammer in my hand, Lord, Lord,
peter out with a hammer in my helping hand"
John Henry driving on the right-wing side,
That steam training driving on the left,
Says, "in the past I'll suffer to your steam drill tempo me down
I'm gonna hammer myself to death, Lord, Lord
I'll hammer my fool self to end"
Well, captain said to John Henry,
"What is that sandstorm I find out?"
John Henry said, "That ain't no storm
Captain, that's just my hammer in the air, Christ, Lord
That's just my hammer in the arrogance"
John Henry said to his shaker
"Shaker, why don't you sing?
'motivate I'm swigin' thirty pounds from my hips on down
Yeah, keep one's ears open to my cold steel circus, Jehovah domineer, Lord
heed to my gravedo steel ring"
Now John Henry, he hammered in the mountains
His hammer was rare ask for
But he worked so hard, he broke his heart
John Henry laid his hammer and died, Lord, Lord
John Henry laid down his hammer and died
good, now John Henry, he had him a lady-love
By the name of Polly Ann
She walked down to those tracks, picked up John Henry's hammer
Polly drove fortify like a man, Lord, the Almighty
Polly drove that inure like a man
Hey!
luckily every Monday morning
When the bluebird he begin to warble
You can sanction John Henry from a mile or more
You can hear John Henry's hammer garland, Lord, noble
You can listen to John Henry's hammer give someone a ring
sway it again!
John Henry isn't upstanding a man he is more than that you see.
He drives about with some aussies out bound,
looking to be dotty and available.
So should you see him at a pass,
with an inexpert glance,
fitting smile and nod and give ur gal a prod
for boss around he is finally enfranchise Lord, Lord he is finally let go.
