John Henry Chords

Lyrics & chords

[Verse 1]
[Am]When [C]John[Am][C][Am]
[A]Henry was a little baby
[Am]Sit [A]tin'[Am] on [A]his
[Am]mammy's [A]knee
[Bb]Well, [E]he [Am]stuck out his hand
and [D]he grabbed a piece of steel
This is gonna [Bb]be the d[Am]eath o[C]f me[Am],
[C]Lord, [D]Lord
[F]Yes, it's gonna be the [Db]death
of [Bb]me[F][Am]
Well, the captain said to John Henry
Gonna [A]bring a steam drill [E]around
Gonna [A]take [Am]that steam drill [D]out of [F]the job
[D]Gonna [F]hop[D] that ste[A]el on down,
Lord, [D]Lord
Gon[F]na [Bb]hop [C#]that s[D]teel o[C#]n
[A]down[Am][A][Am]
[A]Well, John [Bb]Henry said to the captain
Lord, a man ain't nothin' but a [F]man
But [Bb]before I let that old steam [Eb]drill
beat me down
Gonna [Bb]die with that hammer in my hand,
Lord, [Eb]Lord
Gonna die with that hammer
in my [Bb]hand[Bb]
And John Henry [Bb]said to the shaker,
Shaker, why don't you [F]sing?
Well, I'm [Bb]throwing twelve pounds
from my [Eb]hips on down
And [Bb]listen to the cold steel ring, Lord, [Eb]Lord,
just [Bb]listen to the cold steel [Db]ring[Bb][Eb]
Well, the [Cb]captain said to John Henry,
I believe this mountain's sinking [F#]in
Well, John [B]Henry, look at the cap[E]tain
And he say, ain't nothin' but my hammer suckin' wind,
[B]Lord, [E]Lord
Nothin' but my hammer
suckin' [B]wind[E]
[B]Nothin' but my hammer suckin' [C#]wind,
Lord, [B]Lord
Well, John Henry said to the captain
Hey, captain, look at yonder water,
you see
[F#]Well, you're [B]dilt -and -broke
and you're [E]hole -down -choke
And you [B]can't [E]drive steel like [B]me,
Lord, [E]Lord
You can't [Bm]drive [E]steel like [B]me[E][B][C#]
[Bb]Well, [C]Henry was hammerin'
on the mountain
And his hammer was a strikin' [G]fire
Well, he [C]drove so hard
that he broke his [F]poor heart
He laid [C]down his hammer and he died,
Lord, Lord
He laid down his hammer and he died
They [Db]took John Henry to the graveyard
And they buried him in the [Ab]sand
Loadin' [Db]every locomotive,
come rov[Gb]in' on by
Say, [Db]there lies a [Gb]steel drivin' [Db]man
[F]Lord, [Bbm]Lord[Db][Gbm]
[Db]There lies a steel[Gb] drivin' man[C#][C]
[B]See John Henry is a [Bb]blind man
John Henry,
though he was a steel -driving man
John Henry, oh yeah