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Mar 7, 2024 · John Henry, hero of a widely sung African American folk ballad. It describes his contest with a steam drill, in which John Henry crushed more rock than the machine did but died ‘with his hammer in his hand.’ Writers and artists see in John Henry a symbol of the worker’s foredoomed struggle against the machine.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Ballads about John Henry's life typically contain four major components: a premonition by John Henry as a child that steel-driving would lead to his death, the lead-up to and the results of the legendary race against the steam hammer, Henry's death and burial, and the reaction of his wife.
- 1840s or 1850s
- American folk hero
Album: various ( 1890) lyrics. Songfacts®: This folk song tells the story of John Henry, an enormous man who worked on the Big Bend Tunnel near Talcott, West Virginia. The tunnel was carved through the Big Bend Mountain so the railroad could go through it instead of around it.
1877 to 1924. Media Type. Video. Topics. Black History. Presenter. Scott Reynolds Nelson. According to the ballad that made him famous, John Henry did battle with a steam-powered drill, beat the machine, and died.
A folk song about a steel driver who dies of exhaustion after beating a steam powered hammer in a race. The song explores the themes of Man vs. Machine, African American identity, and the Industrial Revolution. Learn the lyrics, background, and analysis of this Afro-American legend.
Feb 24, 2009 · The Ballad of John Henry. Joe Bonamassa. Track 1 on The Ballad of John Henry. Produced by. Kevin Shirley. Feb. 24, 2009 1 viewer. 4 Contributors. The Ballad of John Henry Lyrics. Who killed...