I was born one morning
Rain was pouring down
I heard my mammy say to my daddy
Call the boy John Henry Brown

   Walk on boy
   Walk on down the road
   There ain't nobody in this whole wide world
   Gonna help you carry your load
   Walk on boy

I left home one evening
Just about the age of ten
I got me a job on the levee lord
Toting water to the hard working men

Well the rich men make all the money
The poor man do all the work
The rich man living mighty high on the hog
Poor man live on the dirt

My old pappy told me
Just on thing to do
Find a good woman be good to her
And she gonna be good to you

Now you all heard this story
Bout the hammer that weighed nine pounds
The cat what swung it way up on the mountain
Was little John Henry Brown