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John Henry as a symbol of black resistance and protest
jphauser:
Putting the story of John Henry in the context of the black worker in Reconstruction and Jim Crow America helps us to realize that his job of carving tunnels out of mountains with a long steel rod, a sledgehammer, and explosives was extremely brutal and life-threatening. And it helps us to see that John Henry’s greatest struggle was not to save his job, but to survive his job.
It also helps us to gain a better understanding of the meaning of certain key verses of the ballad, including one frequently appearing verse in which John Henry tells his baby son that he wants him to be a steel drivin’ man or his son proclaims that he wants to be a steel-drivin' man. For example, here's a verse which appears in Guy B. Johnson's book about John Henry.
John Henry took that liddle boy,
Helt him in the pahm of his han',
And the last words he said to that chile was,
"I want you to be a steel drivin' man,
I want you to be a steel drivin' man."
According to Russell Ames in his article “Protest & Irony in Negro Folksong,” African Americans often used irony to express protest in their music. I believe that when a black man sang that verse in which John Henry expresses his wishes to his son – his hopes for his son’s future – the words spoken in that wish were pure irony.
Here's a variation to the verse in a version by Furry Lewis which strips away the irony and makes a more direct protest.
John Henry had a little baby,
Which he sit in the palm of his hand
Cryin' '"Baby, baby, take your daddy's advice,
Don't you never be a steel drivin' man, man,
Don't never be a steel drivin' man, man."
And here is a link to a full transcription of the version by Lewis in Weeniepedia.
https://weeniecampbell.com/wiki/index.php?title=John_Henry_(The_Steel_Driving_Man)_Take_1
Jim Hauser
Jupiter, FL
Link to my John Henry website, John Henry: The Rebel Versions: https://sites.google.com/view/johnhenrytherebelversions/home
Link to my article in the African American Folklorist titled "Stagolee and John Henry: Two Black Freedom Songs?":
https://theafricanamericanfolklorist.com/articles/a-hrefhttptheafricanamericanfolkloristcom20201129twoblackfreedomsongsstagolee-and-john-henry-two-black-freedom-songsa
Links below were added on July 4, 2023.
Below are two links to "John Henry Blues" by The Two Poor Boys. This recording contains lyrics making veiled threats against John Henry's captain. (Two links are posted in case a link goes bad in the future.) At least two versions of this song by The Two Poor Boys have been released. The version linked to below appears on the album Before the Blues, Vol. 3 on the Yazoo label.
Link 1:
Link 2:
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At the 2:20 mark of the video below, bluesman Willie Foster explains what he refers to as "indirect songs," songs that were sung to a woman but which actually contained messages intended for the white boss. He then goes on to perform a musical example.
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Link to video containing Ray Charles oral essay pointing out the meaning behind his music.
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