I was born one mornin'
The rain a-pourin' down
Heard my mammy say to my pappy
"Let's call him John Henry Brown."

Walk on, boy; walk on down the road;
Ain't nobody in this whole wide world
A-gonna help you carry your load

I left my mammy and pappy
Just about the age of ten;
Lord, I got me a job a-workin' on the levee
Totin' water for the hard workin' men

Walk on, boy; walk on down the road;
Ain't nobody in this whole wide world
A-gonna help you carry your load

One day my pappy told me
"Some advice I wanna give to you --
Son, find a good woman, be good to her
An' she's gonna be good to you."

Walk on, boy; walk on down the road;
There ain't nobody in this whole wide world
A-gonna help you carry your load
If anyone should ever ask you
"Just who is that fella Brown?"
You can tell him I'm the boy
Who left his hammer smokin'
Where he beat that steam drill down

Walk on, boy; walk on down the road;
There ain't nobody in this whole wide world
A-gonna help you carry your load
Walk on boy, walk on boy
Walk on, boy