[Intro - Solo Acoustic Riff, No Drums] Steel rang out in the mountain dark, one man breathing fire. Hammer in his callused hands, eyes like a funeral pyre. [Verse 1 - Acoustic Guitar, Low Gritty Vocal] John Henry was a railroad man, born with thunder in his bones. He could hear that mountain laughing through the iron and the stone. They said, “A machine is coming, boys, it never sleeps or slows.” John Henry wiped his hammer clean and said, “Then let it know.” [Pre-Chorus - Tight Build, Kick Drum Enters] Bring the drill, bring the flame, bring your gears and your crown. There’s a man with a hammer who won’t back down. [Chorus - Acoustic Rock, Metal Drums, Big Vocal] John Henry, swing that steel, make the whole black mountain kneel. Blood on the handle, fire in the lung, hammer falls like a war drum. John Henry, raise it high, strike that stone till the sparks touch sky. One man standing where the thunder runs, fighting the age of the iron sun. [Verse 2 - Faster Acoustic Strums, Driving Drums] The captain said, “Now listen close, that steam drill cuts like sin. No living man can beat that beast, no living man can win.” John Henry gave a quiet smile, spat red dust from his tongue. “Before I let that cold thing rule, you’ll hear this hammer sung.” [Pre-Chorus - Snare Rolls, Rising Vocal] Bring the drill, bring the smoke, bring your wheels underground. There’s a heart in the rhythm that can’t be drowned. [Chorus - Full Acoustic + Metal Drums] John Henry, swing that steel, make the whole black mountain kneel. Blood on the handle, fire in the lung, hammer falls like a war drum. John Henry, raise it high, strike that stone till the sparks touch sky. One man standing where the thunder runs, fighting the age of the iron sun. [Bridge - Half-Time, Palm-Muted Acoustic, Heavy Toms] By noon the air was burning, by dusk the walls were red. The drill was screaming murder, John Henry bowed his head. Not in fear, not in mercy, not for heaven, not for fame. He heard the mountain open when the hammer called his name. [Final Chorus - Double-Time Drums, Acoustic Strummed Hard] John Henry, swing that steel, make the whole black mountain kneel. Blood on the handle, fire in the lung, hammer falls like a war drum. John Henry, raise it high, strike that stone till the sparks touch sky. One man standing where the thunder runs, fighting the age of the iron sun. [Outro - Drums Drop Out, Solo Acoustic and Vocal] Steel rang out in the mountain dark, then silence took the line. But every time that hammer falls, John Henry still keeps time.
