 When John Henry was a little baby boy, sitting on his daddy's knee, Well he picked up this hammer and a little piece of steel He said, this hammer gonna be the death of me La la, this hammer gonna be the death of me When John Henry went to the tunnel to drive The steam hammer by his side He said, before I let this old steam hammer get me down You know I lay down my hammer and I die La la, lay down my hammer and I die The steam captain sent for the measure Brought out that tape so far And John Henry laid twelve feet of cold hard steel And you know that that a hammer lay just nine La la, know that that a hammer lay just nine Well John Henry died at his paw widow to cry And they buried him down by the railroad track So he could hear them engines rolling by La la, he could hear them engines rolling by Well John Henry was a steel driving man Drove steel all over this land And whenever a steam train goes rolling by his grave They say, yonder lies a steel driving man La la, yonder lies a steel driving man La la, yonder lies a steel driving man La la, yonder lies a steel driving man