Appalachian Song - Dan Cunningham
Track 9
JOHN HENRY’S GHOST is a story about working on the Big Bend Tunnel after John Henry's death. Digging began on the Big Bend Tunnel for the C&O railroad at Talcott WV in 1870. The tunnel, more than a mile and a quarter long, was completed in 1873. Recurring rock falls claimed hundreds of lives, with the workers being quickly buried in unmarked graves. The heavy dust in the tunnel impaired visibility and caused serious health problems and often death. After John Henry's death, many workers reported seeing or hearing his ghost when working in the tunnel.
The present historical site, including the John Henry statue and Big Bend Tunnel (now the Great Bend Tunnel) can be seen in the song video near the bottom of this page.
here are the lyrics:
You got to get out of there and come back home alive
You'll feel the devil's hand if you stay
Choking in clouds of dust or falling sheets of shale
There might be hundred ways to die
Lulu, she waits for you she packed her wedding dress
worried that day might never come
You don't need to work this way she'll take a poorer man
The C&O pay ain't worth the price.
(chorus) Deep the Big Bend tunnel -underground (shaker man)
Haven't you seen John Henry's ghost?
The ground is calling out, but Lulu calls you too
Lift up your voice to Him who saves
She cries and prays aloud falls down to her knees
Lord, don't let this pit of hell be his grave
(chorus)
You got to get out of there and come back home alive
You'll feel the devil's touch in the dark
You've seen them carried out, their breath is sucked away
buried in unmarked graves, by the score
© 2011 pickndawg music
words and music by Dan Cunningham
Dan Cunningham: guitars, mandolin, percussion, and vocal
Libby Eddy: fiddle
recording info :
guitars: Yamaha LJX6C - Larrivee SD50
Mics: Rode NT-1 (rebuilt) - RodeNTK
preamp: Art Digital MPA Gold
recorded in the BOOM CLOSET Morgantown WV
mixed and mastered at Zone 8 Studio Morgantown WV by Mark Poole