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John Henry - traditional - 60 bpm


Well, John
G
Henry

was a little

baby


G
sittin' on his

daddy's
D
knee


He
G
pick up a

hammer and a
C
little piece of

steel,

Said, "That
G
hammer's gonna
D
be the death of
G
me, Lord,
Em
Lord

That
G
hammer's gonna
D
be the death of
G
me"



Now the
G
captain he

said to John

Henry,


"I'm
G
gonna bring that

steam drill
D
'round


I'm
G
gonna bring that

steam drill
C
out on these

tracks

I'm
G
gonna knock that
D
steel on
G
down, God,
Em
God

G
Gonna knock that
D
steel on
G
down"



John
G
Henry

said to his

captain,


"Lord,
G
man ain't

nothin' but a
D
man


Be
G
fore I let that

steam drill
C
beat me on

down

I'll
G
die with a
D
hammer in my
G
hand, Lord,
Em
Lord

G
Die with a
D
hammer in my
G
hand"



John
G
Henry

driving on the

right side


That
G
steam drill

driving on the
D
left


Says, "Be
G
fore I'll

let your
C
steam drill beat me

down

I'll
G
hammer my
D
self to
G
death, Lord,
Em
Lord

I'll
G
hammer my
D
fool self to
G
death"



Well,
G
captain

said to John

Henry,


"What
G
is that

storm I
D
hear?"


John
G
Henry

said, "
C
That ain't no

storm

Captain,
G
that's just my
D
hammer in the
G
air, Lord,
Em
Lord

G
That's just my
D
hammer in the
G
air"



John
G
Henry

said to his

shaker


G
"Shaker, why

don't you
D
sing?


'Cause I'm
G
swigin' thirty

pounds from my
C
hips on

down

Yeah,
G
listen to my
D
cold steel
G
ring, Lord,
Em
Lord

G
Listen to my
D
cold steel
G
ring"



Now John
G
Henry, he

hammered in the

mountains


His
G
hammer was

striking
D
fire


But he
G
worked so

hard,
C
he broke his

heart

John
G
Henry laid his
D
hammer down and
G
died, Lord,
Em
Lord

John
G
Henry laid his
D
hammer down and
G
died



Well, now John
G
Henry, he

had him a

woman


Her
G
name was

Polly
D
Ann


She
G
walked out on the

tracks, picked
C
up John Henry's

hammer

G
Polly drove
D
steel like a
G
man, Lord,
Em
Lord

G
Polly drove that
D
steel like a
G
man



Well
G
every,

every Monday

morning


When the
G
bluebird he be

gun to
D
sing


You can
G
hear John

Henry from a
C
mile or

more

You can
G
hear John
D
Henry's hammer
G
ring, Lord,
Em
Lord

You can
G
hear John
D
Henry's hammer
G
ring





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