Some folks say he was born with a hammer in his hand Others say that’s the first thing he reached for a hammer hanging on the cabin wall But everyone agrees he weighed thirty-three pounds when he first came into this world His daddy took one look at him and said That boy’s gonna be a natural man I can see that as plain as a row of cotton runnin uphill Yes sir he’s gonna be a natural man Starting so big John Henry naturally grew fast and he grew big so fast and so big that he was only two when he sat on his mother’s knee for the last time And that time John looked up and said Big Bend Tunnel on the C and O Road gonna be the death of me 8
Of course what John Henry said didn’t make a whole lot of sense to his mother but the way he said it set her to shivering like a cold wet wind would do Even though it was still slavery time John Henry’s folks dreamed of something better for him so they got him a teacher to give him music lessons They started with the banjo but as soon as John Henry grabbed it he snapped the neck like a piece of dry kindling wood They tried the piano next but when John began to play his fingers smashed that poor piano to bits He was already that strong Finally they tried singing but as soon as John Henry raised his voice he raised the roof with it That was the end of his music lessons and that was the last time John Henry ever sang indoors 10
