John henry Chords

Lyrics & chords

[Verse 1]
Mu[G]sic
[Bb][C][G]
[C][F][C]
[G]Not[C] all the heroes
in the old west herded cattle.
Some of them helped lay the silver
rails across this vast land.
They were hard -working men who worked from sun up till sun down,
[F]driving spikes and laying rail[D]road [C]track.
Let me tell you about one [G]of them.
John
[C]Henry was born on a cold, cloudy day
When the sun refused to [G]shine
The [C]very first sound
John
[F]Henry ever heard
Was the [C]mail train rattling down the line
Yes, it was the mail train rat
[G]tling down the [C]line
When
John
Henry was a little bitty boy
No bigger than the palm of your [G]hand
He [C]picked up a hammer and
a [F]little piece of steel
He said,
[C]Johnny gonna be a steel -driving man,
yes he is
Johnny gonna be [G]a steel -driving [C]man
Gun to
Henry, he said to the captain I was born
to be a steel [G]-drivin' man
I swing [C]a nine -pound hammer
like a [F]bulldog swings his chain
I can [C]drive more steel than anybody can
Try me out
I can drive more steel than [G]anybody [C]can
And the captain said to
John
Henry
I don't know what I'd use you [G]for
I got a [C]steam drill coming on that
[F]southbound evening train
I don't [C]need no steel drivers anymore,
no I don't
I don't need me no steel [G]drivers anymore
[C]Wel[D]l they brought that
steam drill out on the job
Here comes
John
Henry with a hammer in each hand
John
Henry, said to
Captain
I know I ain't nothin' but [A]a man
But be[D]fore I let that old
steam [G]drill beat me down
I'd [D]die with my hammer in my hand
You watch me
I'd die with my [A]hammer in my [D]hand
They brought that steam
drill out to the
Shenandoah
Cut
The captain, he started to [A]laugh
But every [D]time that steam drilled
[G]Laid a mile of track
John
[D]Henry laid a mile and a half
Sparks were flying
John
Henry laid a [A]mile and a [D]half
There's an awful lot of stories
About the legends of the
West
Stories about them hard working men
[C]But[A] when it comes to [D]driving steel
Everybody [G]ought to know
Oh,
John
[D]Henry was the be[A]st there's
[D]ever been
John
Henry, he had him a little baby boy
Named him
Abraham
[A]When the peo[D]ple would see
That [G]little boy, they'd say
He's the [D]son of that steel -driving man
Must be proud
He's the son of [A]that steel -driving [D]man
Cause
John
Henry was a steel -driving man
So then,
John
Henry was a [A]steel -drivin' [D]man

[Outro 1]
[D]