John Henry
John Henry

John Henry easy guitar chords by Odetta

N/A•
Guitar
Tuning

E A D G B E

Capo

Fret 1

Capo

Transpose

0

Capo

  • F

  • Em

  • E

  • Gm

    3

  • G

  • Eb

    6

  • F

  • Em

  • E

  • Gm

    3

  • G

  • Eb

    6
    • Verse 1
    John Henry 
    was 
    a little baby, 


    Sittin; on his 
    momma's knee, 

    Said, "The 
    Big 
    Bend 
    Tunnel 
    on the 

    C 
    & O 
    Road 

    Is gonna 
    be the 
    death of me, Lord, 

    Be 
    the 
    death of me." 

    Verse 2
    When 
    John 
    Henry 
    was a 
    little baby, 


    Sittin' on his 
    pop
    pa's 
    knee, 

    He 
    took 
    a hammer, 
    a 
    little piece 
    of steel, 


    Said, "Hammer's 
    gonna 
    be the 
    death 
    of 
    me, Lord, 

    Lord 

    Hammer's 
    gonna 
    be the 
    death of 
    me." 

    John 
    Henry 
    Verse 3
    had 
    a little woman, 

    Her 
    name 
    was Mary 
    Magdalene. 

    Every 
    day she 
    would sing 
    for John Henry 

    Just 
    to 
    hear his hammer 
    when 
    it swing, 

    Lord, 

    Just to 
    hear 
    his hammer 
    when 
    it swing. 

    Verse 4
    And 
    now the captain 

    he says to 
    John 
    Henry, 

    "I'm 
    gonna bring that 
    steam 
    drill round, 


    I'm gonna bring 
    that steam drill 
    out on 
    the 
    job, 


    "I'm gonna 
    whop 
    that 
    steel 

    on down." 

    Verse 5

    John Henry said 
    to his 
    captain, 


    "I know a man 
    ain't nothin' 
    but 
    a man, 


    But before I'll let 
    your 
    steam 

    drill beat me 
    down, 

    I'll die with 
    my hammer 
    in my 
    hand, 

    Lord, 

    I'll die with my 
    hammer 

    in my 
    hand. 

    Verse 6
    John Henry said 
    to his 
    shaker, 
    "Shaker, 
    why don't 

    you 
    sing? 

    And 
    now 
    I'm throwin' 
    forty 

    pounds 
    from my 
    hip 
    on down, 

    Listen 
    to the 
    cold 
    steel 
    ring, 
    Lawdy, Lawdy, 

    Listen 
    to the 
    cold 
    steel ring." 

    Verse 7
    John 
    Henry said 
    to 
    his captain, 
    "Looky 

    yonder what I see- 
    - 

    Steam 
    drill broke, 
    your hole 
    done 
    choke, 

    You 
    can't drive 
    steel like 
    me, 
    Lord, 

    You 
    can't drive 

    steel like 
    me." 

    Verse 8
    John Henry 
    a- 
    workin' 

    on the mountain, 

    Hammer 
    was 
    a- 
    strikin' fire, 

    But he worked so 
    hard it broke 

    his 
    poor 
    heart, 

    He laid 
    down 
    his hammer 
    and 
    he died, 

    Lawdy, 

    He lad down 
    his hammer 
    and 
    he died. 

    Verse 9
    Now 
    momma's 
    gonna 
    shoe 

    my 
    pretty 
    little 
    feet, 

    Poppy 
    gonna 
    glove 
    my 
    hand, 

    Sister 
    gonna 
    kiss 
    my 
    red, 
    ruby 
    lips, 

    I 
    don't 
    need 
    no man, 
    Lawdy, 
    Lawdy, 

    Not after 
    my 
    steel- 
    drivin' 
    man, 

    Lawdy, 
    Lawdy, 

    Not 
    after my steel- 
    drivin' man. 

    Autoscroll20%

    More songs to play

    Join millions playing with GuitarTuna

    • #1 Tuner

      in AppStore & Google Play

    • +

      AppStore & Play rating

    • M

      Downloads worldwide

    • +

      Tunings available

    Trusted by guitar players worldwide

    • Filled starFilled starFilled starFilled starFilled star

      Best Tuning App Ever

      MaddProfessor

      "

      I’ve downloaded many tuning apps before and this one is by far the best. Easy to use, super user-friendly, and they have a bunch of fun different chords and songs to help you learn new music. I highly recommend.

    • Filled starFilled starFilled starFilled starFilled star

      Great to tune and play

      Lynae T

      "

      I love how easy it is to tune and find and play my favorite songs.

    • Filled starFilled starFilled starFilled starFilled star

      Well-Designed App

      Rose the Black Cat

      "

      I mostly use this for tuning my guitar, which this app makes ridiculously easy. It also has a large selection of songs to play along to and it helps show you which chords to play as well how to make the shapes with your fingers.

    • Filled starFilled starFilled starFilled starFilled star

      Got me back into playing

      Tuliketsune

      "

      I got this app to tune an old guitar, and noticed it has a feature that autoscrolls as I play chords to famous songs. For some reason, this was a lot more motivating for me than any other way of practicing guitar. Now I'm actually practicing and remembering the names of chords 🙂

    • Filled starFilled starFilled starFilled starFilled star

      Secret weapon

      Brad

      "

      Not only is it a tuner (best app tuner I've used personally) but it also has a metronome, games, chords, and a plethora of instruments to choose from and it's SUPER easy to navigate. I love it! Thanks for making an awesome app. From one musician to another, THANKS!!!

    • Filled starFilled starFilled starFilled starFilled star

      Very reliable tuner

      theNewPaul

      "

      This is a great app! Very easy to use and very reliable, if you are just starting out, you can take a big worry off your mind, by getting in tune quickly and easily with this app. Highly recommended!

    • Filled starFilled starFilled starFilled starFilled star

      This is the best guitar tuner ever.

      Caleb Schafli

      "

      It tunes your guitar accurately so you can get the best sound. I like all the other little games as well because they teach you how to play different chords and you can learn to identify the chords by listening to them and it is all offline.