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John Henry was a mighty man
Born with a hammer right in his hand
Oooh~
Polly: Every soul has a dream...
and every heart has a way to make it so.
Now let me tell you about my John Henry...
who laid down his life for his dream.
John and me were born slaves.
Nothin' to call our own...
not even each other!
Then the day of jubilation came...
and all the slaves were free,
and John vowed,
"Never again!"
And with that, I had those chains forged into a mighty hammer...
a present for John on our wedding day.
Ooh, you'd a-thought he'd gotten his freedom all over again!
Haha!
He said,
"Polly, l'll die with this hammer in my hand! "
And off we set to find work and a place of our own.
[Men shouting]
Now, the C&O Railroad had promised land...
50 acres to every man who'd finish the line.
But when John and I came up on 'em...
they were already worn out...
and 'bout to lose their promised land.
MacTavish: Lads! Deadline's been moved up!
lf we do not get to the other side of that mountain...
..we can kiss our land good-bye!
First Man: What?!
First Man: That can't be done! Second Man: We had a deal!
Third Man: lt's not fair! Fourth Man: We're working as hard as we can!
John: l'll take you there.
And when did you start building railroads?
Today.
[Grunts]
[Gasps]
Polly: Well, come on, John~
You're the one that we're depending on
Swing that hammer with all your might!
l know you can show 'em how to do it right
Huh
Hah
Huh
Hah
Huh
Polly: John's hammer rang out and the tall tales grew.
John Henry, John Henry
John Henry is a mighty man!
Born with a hammer
A 10-pound hammer!
A 20-pound hammer right in his hand!
l heard John's mama liked to sew at night
So he pulled down the moon for a little bit of light!
Took a lot of cooking to keep John fed
10 dozen eggs and 8 loaves of bread~
John Henry, John Henry
John Henry is a mighty man!
Born with a hammer, born with a hammer
Born with a hammer right in his hand!
He plowed the earth so wide and deep
The seed he sowed the ground had to keep~
His hammer hit the earth with such a mighty blow
Everything he planted would jump up and grow!
John Henry, John Henry
John Henry is a powerful man!
All our lives we've been so poor
John, let me show you what we're working for~
Chorus: Canaan land, Canaan land
Everybody working for the Canaan land
Home and freedom hand in hand
Workin' for the Canaan land
Oh, movin' on down the line!
John Henry came right on time
Now we're movin' on down the line
John Henry came right on time
Home and freedom hand in hand
Workin' for the Canaan land~
First Man: What is that thing?
Second Man: lt's a steam drill.
Third Man: That thing's gonna take our jobs.
But--but we had a contract!
Aah!
We had a deal!
Let's get it!
Push it over!
[Grunts]
This ain't no way to settle things.
But, John, they're throwing us away like we was nothin'!
l've got a better way.
A challenge.
[Hisses]
l've got 2 free hands and a 20-pound hammer.
lf l can best this here machine...
the land you promised is ours.
[Hissing]
John, we're free.
You don't have to do this.
Polly, if they steal our dreams...
they put a chain 'round our souls.
Somebody's got to stand tall.
Believe in me.
First Man: Go, John.
Second Man: John's gonna do it.
Third Man: Come on, John! Show that steam drill!
Furthest by sundown, gentlemen!
Fourth Man: You can do it!
Fifth Man: This is it!
Sixth Man: You can do it, John!
[Cheering]
Unh!
Unh!
Unh!
John Henry, John Henry
John Henry is a mighty man!
John Henry, John Henry
John Henry is a powerful man!
Huh
Hah
Huh
Hah
Steel drivin' man,
John Henry was
Steel drivin' man,
oh, yes, he was~
So proud, defiant,
a gentle giant
A steel drivin' natural man!
Man: John wins!
Huh?
It's not sundown yet.
[Men grumbling]
Well, a-come on, John~
You're the one that we're dependin' on
Swing that hammer,
Bust that rock,
Come on, give it everything you've got!
John Henry, John Henry
John Henry is a mighty man!
Born with a hammer, born with a hammer
Born with a hammer right in his hand!
John and the drill made the valley shake
Rumblin' almost caused an earthquake~
Thunder and lightning was everywhere
Oh, Lord, that battle was beyond compare!
John Henry, John Henry
John Henry is a powerful man!
Born with a hammer, born with a hammer
Born with a hammer right in his hand!
Aye, Polly, he did it!
Polly: Oh, and he was smilin'...
'cause he moved that mountain and led us to the promised land.
You can move mountains, too, baby.
All you got to do is believe.
Oh, don't you be scared of that thunder no more, child.
The storm's done rolled away...
and that's just the sound of your papa...
drivin' steel to glory.
So, just remember...
No mountain too high
No valley too low
No river too wide
No place too far to go
O, believe~
O, when you believe you can overcome
The battle is already won
O, just keep on -Just keep on keepin' on
Stand tall just like John