been listening to a remix of alan lomaxs library of congress recordings
in particular john henrys blues, a remix of ed lewis taped 1959
got me to thinking about old john henry
one of the folkloric characters in RFTW
now most folk know the john henry story
a big steel driving man who got into a race with a steam drill
bruh henry was working on a tunnel being driven through the big bend mountain
when they told him he was being replaced by a steam drill
john henry laughed bigman loud and said before i let a steam drill beat me down
i will die with this hammer in my hand lord, i will die with this hammer in my hand
so john henry he picked up a hammer in each hand and he commence
to driving steel with those hammers swinging so sweet folk that was there
say he had rainbows over his shoulders, ring like silver shine like gold
and then that steam drill commence to driving steel like a natural man
and you never seen nothing like it, they moved through that mountain
like a boll weevil through cotton
and when folk felt the earth a shaking john henry told them not to worry
thats just the sound of my hammer sucking wind lord, just the sound
of my hammer sucking wind
and before i let this power driver beat me down i will die with this hammer in my hand
lord i will die with this hammer in my hand
now as most folk know, thats exactly what happen, john henry beat that steam drill
but he died with his hammer in his hand lord, yes he died with his hammer in his hand
what folk generally dont know is that john henry had a wife name was pollyanne
just a little bit of a thing but pollyanne drove steel like a man lord, pollyanne
drove steel like a man
so when she seen her man falter and she seen the lefthand hammer fall from his hand
she scooped that hammer up before it hit the ground and didnt miss a lick,
and both hammers swinging, they drove that tunnel right through big bend mountain
and they beat that steam drill too lord, they beat that steam drill down
of course john henry was a dead man walking by then, but that righthand hammer didnt get
the news, it kept on following pollyanne, right thru big bend mountain
and to this day when folk going through the big bend tunnel they commence to listening
cause when they so deep under that mountain that the sun dont shine
you can feel that vibration up in there
some folk say thats what a train sound like when its buried under a mountain of stone
but
folk that know these things say thats the sound of those hammers sucking
wind lord lord, thats the sound of those hammers sucking wind
those same folk say if you listen real good you can hear two hammers, hitting like a heart beat
and right in the middle of that heartbeat you can hear john henry and pollyanne singing
aint nothing we cant do lord, aint nothing we cant do, with a hammer in each and every hand
lord lord, with a hammer in each and every hand
word
by rickydoc flowers
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