John Henry

John Henry
Chain-gang Version

Folk Heroes have various origins. The first American type of these heroes was based upon historical persons and events. The classic cases are those of Captain John Smith of Jamestown colony along with, of course, Pocahontas; George Washington; Paul Revere; Daniel Boone. Other folk heroes often arise from literary origins such as Rip Van Winkle, Ichabod Crane, and Nathaniel Bumpo (Hawkeye or the Deerslayer). Then there are those heroes whose origins remain somewhat uncertain. John Henry is one of these. Was he just a song responding to expansion west or industrialization of the U. S. or an invention of an unknown songster. John Henry's legends are important for various reasons. One is that John Henry is the first common man to become a hero, a legend for his own deeds. He was also poor. Another is that John Henry is the first African-American elevated to such status. It was the first sign that America was beginning to accept African-Americans into the previously all white mainstream culture. This made possible future Heroes of common origins to come forth, like Zorro, the Cisco Kid, Sacagawea, Paul Bunyan, and Pecos Bill -- even outlaw 'heroes' like Jesse James, Billy the Kid, and Machine Gun Kelly. Finally -- and most importantly, we need to remember that there is no authorized or definitive version of the story. The story, the song belong to us.

Download John Henry: Chain-gang Version

The legend of John Henry is also one of the first Folk Heroes based upon song lyrics rather than prose. English has this tradition going back at least to ballads of Robin Hood attributed to Alan A'Dale, perhaps to the old Anglo Saxon bards of the Dark Ages. The variations of musical genres (and texts of course) is varied and wonderous. The You Tube links below illustrate how deeply the John Henry legend embeds itself into our folk lore and literature. Notice the different genres.
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