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John Henry chords by
Johnny Horton
Johnny Horton
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Key: D major
Verse 1
D
D

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Ah, that's fine.
A
A

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That's really good.

Gene Sullivan there,
D
D

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Columbia recording artist

with Past the Biscuits.

That really takes me back

home.

Another Columbia recording artist


whose top's for Louisiana

hayride pickin' and singin'

is Johnny Horton,
A
A

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known as the Singing Fisherman.
D
D

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A
A

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Say, Singing Fisherman, how are the bass bitin'?

Well,

I'll tell ya,
D
D

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frankly, they're bitin' real good,

especially on the little bait
A
A

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that I've invented.

You go out early in the mornin',

you know...
D
D

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Hold on, John.
A
A

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He'll be talking all night, folks.

Take over,
D
D

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John, with a song.

What do you say?

John Henry Walsh
A
A

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D
D

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A
A

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D
D

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A little bitty boy

No bigger than the palm of
A
A

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Freddy's hand
D
D

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Johnny's mama looked down
A
A

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D
D

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A
A

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at Henry and she said
D
D

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A
A

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D
D

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She said, my Johnny's gonna be a steel driving man,

man, man
A
A

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D
D

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Johnny's gonna be a steel driving man,

yeah

John Henry said to his captain

Said a man ain't nothin' but a man
A
A

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D
D

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But before I let the

steam drum beat me down

I'm gonna die with this hammer in my hand,

oh, oh
A
A

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D
D

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Gonna die with this hammer in my hand

John Henry said to his shaker
A
A

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Shaker, why don't you pray
D
D

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If my hammer misses that

little piece of steel,

boy, tomorrow'll be a fair day, day,
A
A

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D
D

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day, tomorrow'll be a fair day

Johnny Henry said to his shaker, shaker
A
A

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why don't you sing?
D
D

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If my hammer misses that

little piece of steel,

boy, listen to that coal steel ring, ring,
A
A

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D
D

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ring, listen to that coal steel ring
A
A

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D
D

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G
G

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D
D

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Oh!


The captain, he said to John Henry
A
A

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Did I believe the mouth was sinkin' in?
D
D

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John Henry laughed at his captain,

he said

Ain't nothin' but my hammer suckin' wind,


Lordy, Lordy

Ain't nothin' but my
A
A

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D
D

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hammer suckin' wind

John Henry had a little woman
A
A

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Her name was Polly An n
D
D

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Johnny got sick and he had to go to bed

But Polly Ann drove that stupid flock of men,

Lordy, Lordy
A
A

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D
D

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Polly Ann drove that stupid flock of men

They took Johnny and

Red to the graveyard
A
A

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Stuck him six feet under the sand
D
D

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Yeah, there's a locomotive

that come rollin' by

Johnny lies a steel drivin' man

And there yonder lies a steel
A
A

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D
D

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A
A

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D
D

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drivin' man


Thank you very much.

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Chords
  • D

  • A

  • G

Capo: 0

Transpose: 0

0

Autoscroll20%

Frequently asked questions

The original key of John Henry by Johnny Horton is D major.

The primary chords used in John Henry are D, A, G.

No capo is required for this song.

Yes, this version uses open chords like D, A, G, making it a great song for beginner guitarists.

The tempo of John Henry is approximately 67 beats per minute.

You can easily change the key of John Henry using our Transpose button located in the toolbar. This will automatically update all chord diagrams on the page to match your new key.

Yes! Click the Print icon to generate a clean, one-page version of the chords and lyrics for John Henry. This is perfect for practicing offline or adding to a physical songbook.

Yes, we have integrated a Mini-Tuner directly on this page. Use it to quickly check your string pitch (Standard Tuning: E A D G B E) before you start playing along with Johnny Horton.

Absolutely. Click the Save or Heart icon to add John Henry to your account. You can access all your saved songs under My Library at any time.

You can view the full chord sheet and lyrics for John Henry by Johnny Horton on this page for free. We provide high-quality, verified chords to help you start playing immediately.