From verse-to-verse, generation-to-generation, the storyĬhanges to suit the singer. He’s a hero to Woody Guthrie, a warning to Mississippi John Hurt, an inspiration to the chain gang. Geoff Edgers said in his Analysis of John Henry Music, “John Henry, as ultimate working-class hero, has been embraced by disparate groups: black prisoners, white mountain musicians, college folk revivalists, elderly blues singers…The connector is this valiant battle, man against machine, man against boss, man against the power structure that keeps his people (African-Americans? Laborers?) in chains. Whether he was a true historical figure or a fictitious hero carved into the minds of common Americans by oral tradition, his story has given inspiration to generations. One of the most colorful characters in American folklore is the legendary John Henry.
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