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John Henry (Angola State Penitentiary, Louisiana 1959)Reading time: 3 minutes. |
1. John Henry had a little woman,
and they called her Polly Ann,
Well who gonna glove her pretty little feet,
Mama, I'm gonna glove yo hand,
Yea I'm gonna glove yo hand.
2. John Henry told his captain,
Says "Captain when you go to town,
Bring me back a twelve pound hammer,
So I can drive your steel on down.
Lawd, Lawd, I can drive your steel on down."
3. John Henry said to his captain,
"Oh Captain - a man ain't nothin but a man,
Just before I die with the hammer in my hand,
Lawd, Lawd, I'll die with the hammer in my hand."
4. It's "Big black nigger" when I'm gone,
And it's "Honey, darlin' when I'm home,
But as soon as I get a twenty dollar bill,
It's "Baby, where you been so long?"
Lawd, Lawd, it's "Baby, where you been so long?"
5. John Henry says to his mother,
Says "A man ain't nothin but a man,
Before I let this steam beat me down,
Lawd, I'll die with this hammer in my hand,
Lawd, Lawd, I'll die with this hammer in my hand."
6. John Henry, Oh John Henry,
John Henry was taken sick,
And Polly drove steel like a man,
Lawd, Lawd, and Polly drove steel like a man.
7. John Henry said to his father,
"If there's one more train I want to ride,
That's the Santa Fe, and the Southern Pacific,
On that I.C. Railroad line,
On that I.C. Railroad line,
Oh Lawd, that I.C. Railroad line."
Questions. Make sure you can answer these questions about what you just read:
Source: Recorded in the Louisiana State Penitentiary, Angola, LA, by Dr. Harry Oster, 1959. Weblink. |
Modern
Languages / Anthropology 3043: Folklore & Mythology.
Laura Gibbs, Ph.D.
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