I'm gonna tell you about John Henry
He was a steel-driving man
Well, he said to his mama, on the day that he was born
"I'm gonna hammer all over this land, oh, yes!
Gonna be a steel-driving man"

Just a-pourin' down rain on a Saturday morning
Sun refused to shine
John Henry was born in a railroad shanty
Way down track, from the mine, oh, Lord
Down on the Tennessee line

Well, he weren't no bigger than a little-bitty baby
Said to the hiring man
"Well, I'm a-gettin' too old for a cradle and a rattle
And I gotta have a hammer in my hand, oh, Lord
I'm gonna be a hammerin' man"

(Gonna be a hammerin' man)

He said, "Give me a chance, or lеt me work in your mine
And I'll show you what I can do"

"This ain't no mine, it's thе Big Ben tunnel
And we're cuttin' her clean-on through
And thanks to my brand-new steam drill, here
I don't need no help from you"
Well, he picked up a hammer and he reached for another
And he took on one in each hand
Both right and left, he was a-swingin' and a-singin'
Ain't nothin' but a natural man, oh, Lord
A natural hammerin' man

"Well, tell me, John Henry!
What can you do that my steam drill can't?"

"Well, I can drive your steel in the blisterin' sun
And make every stroke just right
And when you're talking quit, I've just begun
And I'll finish it, just for spite
I can raise me a ruckus, when the work's all done
Get drunk on a Saturday night, ha-ha-ha!"

"Why, you look a-here, boy!
If you wanna work for me, you gotta beat my steam drill
We gonna have a little contest"

So, John Henry shouldered up his hammer
And the captain fired up the steam drill
And there, they met
Muscle and metal against the mountain

Well, they worked all day in the Big Ben tunnel
And when the work was all done
That drill was down, only 16 feet
John Henry hacked when he won, oh, Lord
And he said, "I've just begun!"
"John Henry, you beat my steam drill right 'nough
But you want wages and it don't
Why, you ain't nothin' but a machine yourself, boy
What you got that it ain't?"

"Well, I got good times and I got my share of troubles, every day
And I got me a wife, and kids who care when things don't go my way
And I got me someone way up there, who hears me when I pray"

And just then, the Lord says
"John Henry, I'm gonna call you home
I've made you the finest steel driver in all this land
And I see down there, I see you're just wastin' your time"

And He called John Henry home

Well, they buried him there, in the Big Ben tunnel
And the trains go rollin' by
You can almost hear his hammer ringin'
You can hear the whistle cry, ooh, woo
You can hear the whistle cry

John Henry, John Henry, John Henry!