John Henry, where'd you go?
I wonder every time it snows
See the hammer and the body in the evening light
Skin of brown
under a bed of white

The cracked mountains of those cold cruel mines
An elegy under the steam drill's whine
If you listen right at suppertime
At sunset
you can hear it chime

CHORUS
That ringing sound like silver
That ringing sound like gold
That ringing sound like angel choirs
That never grow old

His mother hardly speaks
Her rocking chair just creaks
I will sit here in the darkness when the sun falls down
Eat supper cold
listen for that sound

That was one hell of a year
So I'll make my prayer clear
Let the hammer crack the suffering tree
And crack the sky
So everyone can see

CHORUS
John Henry shines like silver
John Henry shines like gold
John Henry's like the angel choirs
That never grow old

His mother sings like silver
His mother shines like gold
His mother sings That ringing sing sing like angel choirs
That never grow old